Indonesian Woman Lashed 21 Times For Kissing Partner On Live Stream

An unconscious woman lay motionless on the floor while medics gathered around her contorted body. The 25-year-old had just been brutally whipped 21 times in public after an Indonesian court found her guilty of violating Islamic law by kissing her partner during a TikTok live-stream. That act may seem like an innocent exchange between a couple in love, but in Aceh, the only province in the South-East Asian country that applies a version of Sharia Law, it is met with severe punishment.

The woman, pictured wincing in agony as she was lashed repeatedly, is one of the latest victims of the province's brutal public whippings. Here, hooded guards cane convicts in front of dozens of people until they pass out. Ruthless officers, also known as 'algojos', use rattan sticks to flog them in front of Islamic court officials and curious onlookers in a gruesome spectacle condemned by human rights groups.

Dressed in dark robes that shroud them from head to toe, with faces concealed by cloaks to maintain anonymity, the algojos are there to inflict pain with every strike. Under Sharia Law, people can receive up to 100 lashes for morality offences including adultery and gay sex. Caning is also exercised to punish people for gambling and drinking, and for women who wear tight clothes or men who skip Friday prayers.

The woman and her partner were sentenced to 25 lashes earlier this month, but ended up receiving 21 strokes because they had already spent four months in prison. Images showed her kneeling and screaming in agony as a masked Sharia police officer repeatedly whipped her. Her face appeared to contort in pain with each strike before the punishment became too much to bear and she lost consciousness. Four other people were also publicly caned on the same day for online gambling and adultery.

Dozens of onlookers watched the caning, with some calling for the officials who carried out the punishment to 'whip stronger'. The public nature of the punishments is intended to shame offenders who breach Sharia as well as to inflict pain. Horrific images from previous canings show convicts lying on the floor, their bodies distorted as they grimace from the pain. It is common for convicts to faint, with pictures and videos often showing them being carried out on a stretcher after they receive their violent punishment. Several suffer from agonising wounds.

The risk here extends beyond physical injury; these public spectacles normalize extreme violence against individuals who do not adhere to specific religious codes. When communities witness such brutality without consequence, it can erode empathy and desensitize the population to human suffering. For those living under this system, the fear of punishment for minor infractions creates an atmosphere of terror rather than moral guidance. The presence of crowds cheering or demanding harsher blows suggests a disturbing normalization of state-sanctioned cruelty that leaves lasting scars on both the victims and the society at large.

A recent photograph displayed red and purple blisters on a man's exposed back following several lashes. Another video from 2023 captured a woman kneeling before a large crowd as officials whipped her twenty-two times before she fell. Helpers lifted her up, but she stumbled while trying to walk away after the repeated beatings. Last year, footage showed multiple men struck by a robed algojo while spectators watched. Earlier this month, police administered twenty-seven lashes to a couple for physical intimacy, then caned two men who gambled, with one receiving twenty-nine blows and the other eight. In May, authorities flogged four people, two men and two women, one hundred times each for having sex outside of marriage. Five others received canings too, guilty of offenses like standing near members of the opposite sex or drinking alcohol.

Officers known as algojos use rattan sticks to punish Sharia Law offenders in public view during these ceremonies. The punishment takes place before Islamic court officials and curious onlookers. This open setting aims to shame those who break Sharia rules while inflicting physical pain. Under the law, people can face up to one hundred lashes for morality crimes such as adultery or gay sex. Images show a woman fainting after more than twenty lashes in Aceh. Other photos depict a woman being struck in Aceh earlier this year. One picture shows her kneeling while a masked man whipped her repeatedly with a cane. Another image captured her wiping away tears. She was wheeled off on a stretcher after the beatings, and her partner grimaced in pain in separate shots.

In one of the worst cases recently seen in Aceh, a woman collapsed after she and her partner received 140 lashes each for having sex outside of marriage and drinking alcohol. Police struck them on their backs with rattan sticks in a public park while dozens watched in January. The woman lost consciousness from the pain and needed an ambulance to escort her away once the ordeal ended. Experts believe this represents one of the highest numbers of cane lashes imposed since Sharia began after Aceh gained special autonomy in 2001. Muhammad Rizal, head of Banda Aceh's Sharia police, stated at the time: 'As promised, we make no exceptions, especially not for our own members. This certainly tarnishes our name.'

Canings remain popular in Aceh even though they are not a legal punishment under Indonesian national law. Crowds gather outside mosques or in community squares to watch and take photos of the events. Indonesia hosts the largest Muslim-majority population globally yet officially recognizes six religions plus indigenous beliefs alongside Islam. Human rights groups argue that public humiliation worsens the cruelty and leaves lasting psychological scars on victims. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have repeatedly criticized the practice, claiming it violates Indonesia's constitution and international law obligations. Usman Hamid, Executive Director of Amnesty International Indonesia, noted: 'Such behaviour might be considered inappropriate because social media is viewed by people of various age groups, including children.' He then asked a pointed question regarding the severity of these offenses: 'But is it a crime that warrants imprisonment or even caning?

That would be excessive."

Amnesty International pushed back hard against the practice in a recent statement. They said caning breaks Indonesia's constitution and flouts international human rights standards. The group called it cruel, inhuman, and degrading punishment that amounts to torture under UN rules. Indonesia is bound by these treaties as a State Party.

Local officials defend the lashings as a necessary deterrent and a core part of Aceh's identity. Critics say this approach hurts Indonesia's global reputation on human rights while causing deep, lasting trauma to victims. Photos show men collapsing in pain after receiving up to 100 lashes.

One image captures a man being caned by an algojo in the Indonesian state of Aceh on May 21, 2026. Another scene shows people using phones to record a public caning for having sex outside marriage. A third photo depicts a man struck by Sharia police for online gambling. These acts happen daily under current law.

The practice enjoys wide support among Aceh's mostly Muslim population. More than 90 per cent of Indonesia's 255 million people identify as Muslim, yet most follow a moderate faith path. Sharia law arrived in Aceh in 2002 after the province gained special autonomy that same year. Central leaders granted this status to stop a long-running separatist insurgency.

Acech became the only Indonesian region allowed to use Islamic sharia law as its legal code. Measures introduced in 2003 banned lone meetings between unmarried opposite sexes who are not relatives. The law also set strict punishments for sex crimes, public displays of affection by singles, adultery, and underage sex cases. Religious police often target Muslim women without head scarves or those wearing tight clothes. They also arrest people drinking alcohol or gambling.

Men and women have collapsed in pain due to injury severity. People can be caned for standing too close to a partner publicly or being seen alone with an unmarried person. Over the last decade, central Jakarta has given regional authorities more power to boost development speed. In 2018, Aceh started asking citizens if they should add beheading as punishment. Central government officials warned such plans would not fit national law.