Who is policing the Police?

Two Shariah Police Officers Receive 8-Year Sentences for Rape of Student

Banda Aceh. The Langsa District Court in East Aceh on Thursday sentenced two members of the Shariah Police to eight years in prison each for the rape and torture of a 20-year-old female student in January.

The punishment was less than the maximum 12-year jail term demanded by prosecutors, who argued that as members of the Shariah Police, also known as Wilayatul Hisbah, the defendants should have better morals.

Prosecutor Sayed Muhammad had previously pointed out that the offenders, Muhammad Nazir, 29, and Feri Agus, 28, had taken turns raping the woman in a detention cell with another officer in the early hours of Jan. 8. The third suspect, Dedy Setiawan, 27, is still at large.

Both convicts said through their lawyers that they would consider the verdict before deciding whether to appeal.

Judge Lukman Bachmid, the Langsa District Court chief, said on Thursday that both men had received the eight-year sentences because of the harm and trauma inflicted on the victim.

He said that eight years was “relatively heavy” compared to verdicts in other parts of the country for similar offenses.

“The defendants had never committed a crime before, they were always polite during the trial and they are the breadwinners for their families,” he said.

He also said that the maximum sentence would have only been given if the offense had cause detrimental harm to the victim’s future.

The victim, identified only as N, was taken into custody by the Shariah Police for allegedly engaging in an immoral act with her boyfriend. Both she and her boyfriend were detained and questioned by the officers.

The rape occurred early on a Friday, which is considered a holy day for Muslims with mandatory prayers held in the afternoon for Muslim men.

Sayed said that a medical examination confirmed the victim had been sexually assaulted and that she had suffered severe hemorrhaging as a result of the rape.

After the incident was made public, rights activists in Aceh and across the country called for the Shariah Police to be disbanded, saying that it was a law unto itself and did nothing but harass women about their clothes and humiliate young unmarried couples.