This is the moment three young couples were savagely whipped in public – after they violated Sharia law by going on dates.
Harrowing pictures show one woman crying out as she is repeatedly lashed with a cane at Al Furqon Mosque in the city of Banda Aceh, Indonesia.
Separate images show a man standing as he received the same brutal punishment.
In total, three Acehnese couples were sentenced to receive public lashes for violating Sharia law in a brutal new crackdown in the region.
Under the law men and women, who are not spouses, are not allowed to get too close due to the ‘khalwat’ offence – and punishment is by public caning.
Aceh is the only province in the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country that is allowed to implement Islamic Sharia law.
In September, pictures emerged of a woman being caned after she was accused of having sex while unmarried.
Under the law men and women, who are not spouses, are not allowed to get too close due to the ‘khalwat’ offence – and punishment is by public caning
Gay sex, gambling and drinking alcohol are all punishable by caning in Aceh which began implementing Sharia law after being granted special autonomy in 2001, an effort by the central government in Jakarta to quell a long-running separatist insurgency.
A flurry of new Islamic laws have been introduced in Aceh in recent years, drawing howls of protest from rights groups.
Earlier this year, Banda Aceh banned women from entertainment venues after 11pm unless they are accompanied by a husband or male family member.
Aceh district has also banned unmarried men and women from riding together on motorbikes.
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