Two men have been reportedly sentenced to public caning in Indonesia for hugging and kissing in a toilet. A court in the Aceh province delivered the ruling on Monday, August 11, after the pair were arrested in April.

The college students, aged 20 and 21, were reported by local residents after they were seen entering a bathroom in Taman Sari city park together. Police then broke down the door, and although they were not discovered unclothed or engaging in any sexual acts, they were detained.

The case was heard in front of the District Court of Banda Aceh, which operates under Islam’s legal system, Sharia law. The lead judge stated that the men had “legally and convincingly” been caught in acts that would have led to sexual activity, which is criminalised in the region.

While prosecutors sought 85 lashes for each man, the judges reduced it to 80 due to the pair’s cooperation with authorities, lack of prior convictions and time served awaiting sentencing. This marked the fifth time that a Sharia court in Aceh has punished people over a homosexual offence since the law was implemented in the province 10 years ago. In February of this year, two other men in Indonesia were sentenced to public caning after they were discovered naked together in a rented room.

There is no national law in the country criminalising homosexuality; however, many argue that LGBTQ+ people are discriminated against under loosely defined morality and anti-pornography legislation. In June, 75 people were arrested after police raided a so-called “gay party”, which actually turned out to be an HIV awareness event, where information, condoms and voluntary testing were made available to promote safer sex.

At the time, Amnesty International condemned the incident, calling it a “blatant violation of human rights and privacy that exemplifies the hostile environment for LGBTI people in Indonesia.

“This gathering violated no law and posed no threat,” the statement added.

“The Indonesian authorities must end these hate-based and humiliating raids. No one should be subjected to arrest, intimidation or public shaming because of their actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity.”