A young couple in Indonesia was publicly caned Thursday following their conviction for violating local morality laws after allegedly kissing during a TikTok livestream in March. The 22-year-old man and 25-year-old woman each received 21 lashes after an Islamic sharia court in Aceh province reduced their sentence from 25 lashes. They had spent four months in detention prior to the punishment.
The couple was apprehended after residents reported their “immoral livestream content” to authorities, who described the incident as an “immoral act” captured inside a car. Sharia police confirmed that the video, which went viral, triggered widespread criticism from online users and locals before leading to their arrest.
Shariah law officials assist an unmarried woman, convicted of violating Islamic law by kissing during a TikTok livestream, to get up after being publicly caned, in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, Thursday, July 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Reza Saifullah)
The court confiscated the couple’s cellphone and USB drive containing the video, which authorities pledged to destroy. Aini Nadhirah, a 22-year-old resident of Banda Aceh, justified the punishment, stating it serves as a public education tool to discourage similar behavior on social media. “This caning is entirely justified as a warning to others,” she said.
A man is publicly caned after he was convicted of violating Islamic law by kissing during a TikTok livestream, in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, Thursday, July 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Reza Saifullah)
Aceh is Indonesia’s only province authorized to enforce Islamic criminal law under a 2005 peace agreement with the central government. The local Sharia Code penalizes moral offenses such as premarital intimacy and “immoral acts” with up to 100 lashes. Caning is also applied for gambling, alcohol consumption, and adultery.
Shariah law officials escort a woman convicted of violating Islamic law by kissing a man, both unmarried, during a TikTok livestream after her public caning, in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, Thursday, July 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Reza Saifullah)
Human rights organizations, including Amnesty International Indonesia, have condemned public caning as cruel and degrading, despite Indonesia’s ratification of international treaties banning such punishments. Local officials maintain that the practice does not constitute cruel treatment under their legal framework.
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