Police in the Indonesian province of Aceh arrested and publicly humiliated a group of about a dozen transgender women who work in hair salons last week. Gay and transgender people are often repressed in this conservative province ruled by Sharia Islamic law. However, our Observer said this abuse has reached shocking new levels.

According to the local police chief, this operation, which he claimed was meant to combat “mental illness”, was launched after local residents filed complaints, deploring what they called the “negative influence” that transgender people could have on children. The raids focused on ten different hair salons.





Photo published by the Aceh police.



Local police shared photos of the arrest. These images show transgender women lying on the ground, on their knees or having their hair cut. Three days after the arrest, the chief of police spoke with the BBC by telephone.

"We are holding them for three days to give them counselling and coaching,” he said. “It's going well and now they are all acting like real men."

According to police, the women would be detained for five days.





Photo published by the Aceh police.



However, our Observer’s version of events differs from that of the police. He’s a human rights lawyer who is in contact with Aceh-based NGOs that were able to meet with the women while they were in detention. He says that the women were also abused and humiliated while in police custody. For security reasons, he wishes to remain anonymous.