More than 530 people have been caned under Aceh’s Islamic law since its enactment on Oct. 23, 2015, including dozens of men and women who were punished for victimless crimes like kissing, fornication and sodomy.



The implementation of corporal punishment in the province, which has been granted autonomy to devise its own criminal law, has been met with condemnation from civil society groups who argue that such punishment is too harsh for petty crimes.



In a press conference at the Indonesian Legal Aid Institute (LBHI) office in Jakarta, human rights activists called on the Acehnese government and the central government to review the province’s Islamic criminal code qanun jinayat (bylaw).



The bylaw was enacted two years ago as a result of the 2005 peace agreement between the Indonesian government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) in Helsinki that Aceh would be allo...