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Indonesian court in Aceh orders public caning of couple convicted over TikTok livestream kiss
The Apex Times

THE APEX TIMES

International/The Apex Times/Jul 3, 6:09 PM EDT

Indonesian court in Aceh orders public caning of couple convicted over TikTok livestream kiss

The provincial Islamic criminal code in Aceh prescribes corporal punishment for acts deemed violations outside marriage, and authorities said the case was tied to an online video.

2 min readEditor-approved Apex article

A young man and woman were publicly caned in Indonesia’s Aceh province after an Islamic Sharia court convicted them of violating local rules on intimacy outside marriage, following a TikTok livestream of them kissing, according to multiple reports. The punishment drew international criticism and renewed attention to Aceh’s enforcement of the province’s version of Islamic criminal law, known as Qanun Jinayat.

The couple, who were identified in human-rights reporting as being 22 and 25 years old, were publicly caned 21 times each in Banda Aceh, the provincial capital, Amnesty International said. The caning took place on July 2, Amnesty added, following an arrest in March after the couple livestreamed the video from inside a car on TikTok.

Aceh remains the only Indonesian province that enforces the Islamic Criminal Code, Amnesty said, and its local system includes corporal punishment for conduct that authorities describe as extramarital relations. In accounts of the case, the prosecution relied on the couple’s online video as evidence of the conduct and brought the matter before a Sharia court that issued the corporal sentence.

International rights groups said the case highlights how authorities are using digital surveillance and online content to expand the reach of the province’s corporal punishment. Amnesty International said Sharia police in Aceh appear to be intensifying digital monitoring efforts as they seek to punish acts deemed to violate Sharia law, including public displays of intimacy outside marriage.

Amnesty characterized the punishment as “inherently cruel, inhuman, and degrading,” and said it frequently crosses the threshold into torture. In a statement provided by Amnesty, Montse Ferrer, the group’s co-regional director, said authorities were criminalizing what she described as consensual intimacy and warned the case reflects “enduring human rights violations” permitted under Aceh’s Islamic Criminal Code.

Other outlets reported the caning as the latest example of Aceh’s use of public corporal punishment tied to conduct captured on social media. The case also added to pressure on Indonesia’s authorities and provincial officials over whether corporal punishment in criminal sentencing complies with constitutional and international obligations.

For the couple, the immediate practical effect is that the court-ordered lashes were carried out publicly following conviction, with the incident widely circulated after the livestream. For Aceh’s institutions and law-enforcement agencies, the case is likely to be scrutinized as Indonesian courts and oversight bodies assess the balance between local religious legal frameworks and broader civil and human-rights commitments.

Why It Matters

  • The case shows how Aceh’s local Sharia enforcement can rely on social-media content to pursue criminal penalties, expanding the practical impact of online speech and privacy expectations.
  • Public caning affects family and community members directly, given the public nature of the punishment and its broadcast-like visibility after online circulation.
  • The incident increases international scrutiny of Indonesia’s compliance with obligations related to corporal punishment and non-discrimination, particularly because Aceh is the only province using the Islamic Criminal Code.
  • It raises questions about how digital monitoring and evidence collection are used in provincial criminal proceedings, and what safeguards apply when online videos are treated as proof.

Sources

Key Facts

  • A young man and woman were publicly caned in Indonesia’s Aceh province after a Sharia court convicted them over a TikTok livestream in which they kissed.
  • Amnesty International said the couple were 22 and 25 years old and were caned 21 times each in Banda Aceh.
  • Amnesty reported the couple were arrested in March after livestreaming the incident in a car on TikTok.
  • Aceh enforces Qanun Jinayat, Indonesia’s Islamic Criminal Code, and Amnesty said Aceh is the only province that does so.
  • Amnesty said the punishment drew condemnation and argued that caning can amount to torture and violates protections against cruel treatment.