Gangraped Indon woman to face caning for adultery

A 25-year-old widow who was gangraped for adultery by vigilantes is going to receive nine lashes of a cane for having extramarital sex with a married man.

The woman and her paramour, a 40-year-old man and father of five, were caught in the act by seven men and a 13-year-old boy who reportedly barged into her home in Aceh. The group tied up and beat the man and repeatedly raped the woman before taking them to the local sharia police. Aceh is the only province in Indonesia to enforce the sharia law.

"We want the couple caned because they violated the religious bylaw on sexual relations," Ibrahim Latif, the head of the Langsa town's sharia police, told The Jakarta Globe. He said the couple had "confessed to having sex on several previous occasions."

The fact that she was gangraped after the adultery will not mitigate her punishment. Both the woman and the man face nine lashes each with a cane in public.

While endorsing the caning, the provincial head of Nahdlatul Ulama, the country's largest Islamic organisation, said the vigilantes should also be punished in criminal and religious courts for taking the law into their own hands.

"The punishment for the mob that raped the victim must be much harsher because they have set back efforts to uphold Sharia in Aceh," said Teungku Faisal Ali, who leads the Islamist group in Aceh.

Two men and the teen have been arrested, and police have appealed for the other five to surrender.

IndiaToday