Two Christians were whipped in public on 27 February in Banda Aceh, the capital of the Sumatran province of Aceh, as a crowd took photos and jeered.
Dahlan Sili Tongga, 61, and Tjia Nyuk Hwa, 45, were punished for breaking Sharia law by playing a game at a children’s entertainment centre, which the authorities judged to be tantamount to gambling. Tongga and Hwa were whipped six and seven times respectively.
Sharia law for all
Aceh is the only province governed by Sharia, and the courts impose hundreds of whippings every year. Previously, the laws only applied to Muslims, but this changed in December 2013, when they became effective for members of all religious groups.
