Christian woman becomes first non-Muslim caned under Aceh law
In 2016, Remita Sinaga, a 60-year-old Christian woman, became the first non-Muslim in Indonesia to be caned under Aceh’s Sharia law. She had been found with 50 bottles of alcohol for sale and accepted the punishment, saying she feared prison conditions would be worse.
Aceh is Indonesia’s only province that applies Sharia criminal law, which bans alcohol and several other acts. The code applies to Muslims, but non-Muslims may choose to be sentenced under it; Sinaga’s 30 lashes were reduced to 28 for time spent in detention. The article also reports that a woman convicted of extramarital sex and alcohol offences recently collapsed after receiving 140 lashes.
In short
- Christian woman accepted caning over a prison sentence.
- Her 30-lash sentence was reduced to 28.
- Aceh is Indonesia’s only province applying Sharia criminal law.
Explained simply
Aceh is a province in Indonesia with special powers to enforce criminal rules based on Sharia, or Islamic law. Its rules ban alcohol and several other acts, and generally apply to Muslims.
Non-Muslims can also be sentenced under these rules if they choose that option. The case raises questions about how the law is applied to people of different faiths and about the use of caning as a punishment.
The wider context includes caning for offences such as drinking alcohol and sex outside marriage. The punishments have drawn attention to the role of religious law in Aceh’s justice system.
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Originally published by Daily Mail as “The first non-Muslim to be caned under Indonesia’s sharia law – a Christian 60-year-old woman given 28 lashes for selling alcohol”.