The first non-Muslim to be caned under Indonesia's sharia law - a Christian 60-year-old woman given 28 lashes for selling alcohol

It was a sight almost reminiscent of medieval times. A female prisoner bowed her head before the crowd of onlookers as she readied to take her humiliating punishment. Surrounded by police, and dressed in an over-sized, long white robe with her head covered by a lavender scarf, Remita Sinaga awaited her punishment. Beside her, a man dressed in black and wearing a hood to completely conceal his identity, extended his right arm and prepared to administer the first blow. This 60-year-old had not committed a heinous crime – she had been caught selling alcohol – but she lives in a place where such an act is punishable by lashes of the cane.In 2015, the devoutly Muslim province of Aceh in Indonesia, introduced Islamic Sharia law, making gambling, adultery, premarital sex, homosexuality, public displays of affection, mixing with the opposite sex, and the consumption and selling of alcohol illegal.It is now a decade since Sinaga, a Christian from the town of Takengon, was sentenced to 30 brutal lashes and became the first non-Muslim to be caned under Islamic law in the southeast Asian country. Remita Sinaga, 60, was the first non-Muslim to be caned under Indonesia's Sharia law in 2016 Medical personnel and Sharia officers attend to a female convict, dressed inn white, who collapsed during a public caning session earlier this month A man found guilty of adultery under Sharia law grimaces in pain as he is whipped 100 times Every year, millions of tourists, many of them Britons, flock to Bali, the party capital of Indonesia, which is known for its golden beaches, clear blue seas and nightlife, and which has a more relaxed attitude towards drinking – at least if you're 21. Yet 2,200 miles away, in the same country, Aceh operates its own penal system, and is the only province in Indonesia that has implemented Sharia law. Punishments for breaking the draconian laws include caning, fines and imprisonment.Here, alcohol is banned, which is why Sinaga, in 2016, was found guilty by the Central Aceh Islamic Court after police discovered 50 bottles of alcohol at her stall. Sinaga had been given a sentence of 30 lashes from a rattan cane, but it was reduced to 28 to take into account the time she spent in detention. The Islamic criminal code in place in Aceh is reserved only for Muslims, but non-Muslims can choose to submit to it if they wish. And this is what Sinaga did. She agreed to the punishment because she felt the alternative was worse – a custodial sentence in a prison where the conditions are bad and welfare for inmates is virtually non-existent. A woman is caned after being convicted of violating Aceh's Islamic law prohibiting sex outside marriage in Banda Aceh on October 15, 2026 Officers attend to a man who struggles to stay upright during his caning punishmentThe 2016 incident, which received worldwide coverage at the time, came after Indonesia banned alcohol sales in small shops the year prior. Since the viral moment, Aceh residents have continued to suffer under the barbaric practice of corporal punishment demanded by Sharia law. In fact, in 2009, there was a legal push to also allow stoning, but this was vetoed by the then governor of Aceh.Earlier this month, in Banda Aceh, the province's capital on the island of Sumatra, a woman found guilty of having sex outside marriage collapsed while being lashed.Photos from Aceh, the only Indonesian province to apply Islamic law in practice, showed medical and Sharia officers crowding around the 21-year-old after she received 140 lashes (100 for extramarital relations and 40 for alcohol) of the cane.Her sentences matched that of her male partner, who was caned alongside her and struggled to stay upright during the sentence.Ruthless officers, known as 'algojos', use rattan sticks to flog prisoners in front of Islamic court officials and curious onlookers in a gruesome spectacle condemned by human rights groups.The public nature of canings in Aceh is intended to shame as well as inflict pain on Indonesians found to have violated Sharia law. They are often staged outside mosques or in community squares, with crowds watching and often documenting the event on their mobile phones.It is common for prisoners to faint, with pictures and videos often showing them being carried out on a stretcher. A woman has become the first person to be publicly caned in Aceh province for livestreaming obscene acts on social media. She was accused of kissing her partner live on TikTok Chilling images show her screaming in agony as a masked Sharia female officer repeatedly brings the cane down across her back She is seen collapsing to the ground clutching her back as a woman tries to help her It is unclear how many of the 27 lashes she had received before she fainted Aceh is the only province in Indonesia that enforces Sharia law, under which same-sex relationships and sex outside marriage are criminal offencesIn July, an Indonesian woman became the first person to be publicly caned in Aceh for 'committing obscenity live with a man on social media' under its strict Sharia law, after she and her partner were accused of kissing during a TikTok livestream.Images show the woman kneeling and screaming in agony as a masked Sharia female officer repeatedly brings the cane down across her back.Her face contorts in pain with each strike before the punishment becomes too much to bear and she loses consciousness, collapsing to the floor as a woman tries to help her.Dozens of onlookers watched the caning, with some calling for the officials who carried out the punishment to 'whip stronger'.The woman then lies motionless on the floor as a medic examines her to determine whether she is fit enough to continue the punishment, with any remaining lashes postponed until she is deemed well enough to complete the caning.The woman's partner-in-crime was also caned, while four other convicts also received lashes.The couple was reported to the authorities after they were seen kissing during a livestream on the video app TikTok, which prompted an investigation that led to their punishment, the city's Sharia police head Muhammad Rizal told reporters on Thursday.'They clearly violated the Islamic sharia,' Mr Rizal said, adding that it was the first time in the religiously conservative province that people were punished for violating sharia law through social media. A man received 42 times lashings for consuming alcohol and breaking Sharia law in Banda AcehA stretcher lies ready just in case and an officer with a microphone counts down the 42 lashes Two men who broke the region's strict laws on consuming alcohol are escorted to a building where their punishment will take place Four men are seen sitting in front of Islamic court officials and police ahead of their punishment Supporters of the Islamic criminal law argue that such punishments are legal under the special autonomy that is granted to AcehActs of physical intimacy such as kissing, hugging or touching between men and women who are not husband and wife are forbidden in Aceh.Amnesty International Indonesia spokesperson Haeril Halim said the punishment for the couple was 'a horrifying act of discrimination'.'This shows that the Aceh Islamic Criminal Code (Qanun Jinayat) has expanded its reach to target peaceful expressions in the digital sphere with the caning of the young couple,' he said in a statement to AFP.And in 2024, three men were brutally caned 42 times after they consumed alcohol on the Indonesian island of Sumatra.Pictures showed an intimidating algojo gripping a rattan before carrying out the public caning in front of Islamic court officials.They were led into the middle of the room to sit on a blue rug, their heads bowed, before each taking their turn to receive their punishments.The Acehnese men received 19 to 42 lashes for drinking alcohol, known as 'khamar' in sharia law. A police officer with a microphone oversaw the punishments.Before the punishment was carried out, all men underwent a health check by a team of medics. They were all deemed ready to serve their sentence.The executing prosecutor then called the convicts into the middle of the room one by one, where the caning sentence was carried out.