Indonesian ulema council member flogged for breaking religious laws he helped draft
- A masked religious officer rained down 28 lashes on the back of Aceh Ulema Council member Mukhlis after he was caught with a married woman
- Flogging is a common punishment for a range of offences in the deeply conservative Aceh region of Sumatra, including adultery and drinking
Flogging is a common punishment for a range of offences in the deeply conservative Aceh region on Sumatra island, including adultery, drinking alcohol, and having gay or premarital sex.
Aceh is the only region in the world’s biggest Muslim-majority nation that imposes Islamic law, part of a 2005 autonomy deal with the central government that ended a decades-long separatist insurgency.
On Thursday, a masked religious officer rained down 28 lashes on the back of Aceh Ulema Council (MPU) member Mukhlis after he was caught canoodling with a married woman last month.
Mukhlis, who like many Indonesians goes by one name, grimaced and flinched during the punishment in the provincial capital Banda Aceh, before his married companion was flogged with a rattan cane some 23 times.
The organisation that Mukhlis works for advised the local government and legislature on drafting and implementing Aceh’s religious law, including public flogging.
