14 People Caned in East Aceh For Playing Games of Chance

Fourteen people convicted of violating Aceh’s strict Islamic code on gambling were publicly caned in Langsa, East Aceh, a prosecutor said on Friday.

Irvon, who heads the general crimes division at the Langsa Prosecutors Office, said each of the 14 offenders received six lashes within the grounds of the Darul Falah Mosque on Thursday.

A 2003 qanun, or Islamic bylaw, on gambling carries a maximum punishment of 12 lashes and a minimum of six.

“In court, all of the 14 suspects accepted the Shariah ruling to be caned six times. So, that very afternoon, they were punished,” Irvon told the Jakarta Globe over the phone.

He said the offenders had been arrested by police in different locations across the district for playing judi toto gelap , a lottery game that is called togel in other parts of the country.

Irvon said at least seven other people who had also violated the ban on gambling were caned on May 12.

Other cases, including that of four public officials from Aceh Besar who were arrested in January for gambling, were still pending due to appeals at the provincial Shariah Court, he said. Although the four officials have been convicted, their punishment has been postponed while the appeals are being processed.

Shariah law was first implemented in Aceh in August 2003 after the province was granted partial autonomy as part of a deal to ease the separatist conflict there.

However, the system has been dogged by criticism over perceived double standards that target women and minority groups.


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Amnesty Urges Caning Repeal in Indonesia's Aceh
May 22, 2011



Rights group Amnesty International on Sunday hit out at the use of caning in Indonesia's Aceh province, two days after the country secured a seat on the United Nations' Human Rights Council.

Amnesty urged Jakarta to repeal a by--law used by the partially--autonomous province to openly cane at least 21 men for gambling this month.

"It seems that Aceh’s authorities are increasingly resorting to public caning in violation of international law," Amnesty's Asia--Pacific director Sam Zarifi said in a statement.

"The Indonesian government must act to stop these punishments, which constitute cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment and often amount to torture."

Sixteen people were reportedly caned in Aceh last year, the statement said.

Amnesty said caning violates the UN Convention against Torture, which Indonesia ratified in 1998, and urged central government to review the by--law to conform with international and national human rights law and standards.

Aceh, on the northern tip of Sumatra island, adopted partial sharia law in 2001 as part of an autonomy package aimed at quelling separatist sentiment.

Caning carried out there is mainly aimed at causing shame rather than injury.

Nearly 90 percent of Indonesia's 234 million people are Muslims, but the vast majority practise a moderate form of Islam.

Indonesia was among 15 new nations to secure seats Friday on the Geneva--based Human Rights Council following a vote at the UN General Assembly.

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Aceh Clerics Hit Back at Amnesty International’s Statement
Nurdin Hasan | May 23, 2011



Banda Aceh. Acehnese clerics have criticized Amnesty International's call for the Indonesian government to repeal a bylaw that allowed caning, arguing that the practice did not violate any regulation in the world.

In a statement released on Sunday, Amnesty said that caning violated the UN Convention Against Torture, which Indonesia ratified in 1998, and urged central government to review the bylaw to conform with international and national human rights laws and standards.

Clerics in Banda Aceh, however, dismissed the criticism, saying it originated from an ignorance of Shariah law, Islam and Indonesia.

“It is their right to criticize,” said Teungku Muslim Ibrahim, head of the province’s Consultative Assembly of Ulema (MPU) and a professor at Aceh's State Islamic Institute (IAIN). “But as long as they do not seek to understand Shariah, they will continue to criticize something they know little about.”

He said the regulation governing caning as judicial punishment was in line with the country’s laws and did “not violate any regulation in the world.”

Caning adopted partial Shariah Law in 2001 as part of an autonomy package aimed at quelling separatist sentiment. Caning carried out there is mainly aimed at causing shame rather than injury. It is also used as a mandatory punishment for certain crimes in Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei.

“People criticize because they don't understand. The rules in Aceh are clear,” Muslim said. “The Koran says that those who believe in Allah and Rasulullah Muhammad Sallalaahu Alaihi Wassalam must not abide by laws other than the ones determined by their God."

He added that caning did not violate the UN Convention on Human Rights because the convention respected compromises made by a community, big or small.

“Moreover, the Islamic community in Aceh is a majority. Caning is only applied to Islamic followers,” Muslim said, adding that regulations applied to the size and length of the cane as well as the distance between the Shariah violator and punishment executor.

Teungku Faisal Ali, the head of the Aceh chapter of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), said those who criticized caning in Aceh tended to "dislike" Islam.

“Why didn't they criticize caning in Singapore? Why didn't they protest the banning of the head scarf in France? Why didn't they protest Israel, which keeps on violating the UN resolutions?” said Faisal, who is also the secretary of Aceh's Dayah Ulama Association (Huda), an organization comprised of the province's traditional ulema.

“I think Amnesty International doesn't have to intervene the application of Islamic Shariah in Aceh,” he added.

“Tell me, what law is violated in Aceh's application of Shariah? What we apply in Aceh is a national law, which has been acknowledged as part of Aceh's special autonomy. Everyone must respect Islamic Shariah in Aceh,” he said.


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