A man and a woman in Indonesia’s Banda Aceh city, on Wednesday, November 10, were given 17 lashes publicly for having an extramarital affair, which is a moral offense as per Sharia, which is enforced in the city. 

The man and the woman were individually brought into the area, which is features a gallery with rows of seats arranged to accommodate an audience that can witness this punishment. The accused were made to bow and then taken to a red carpet for the execution of the punishment. The Algojo, a Sharia police officer designated to carry out corporal punishments, dressed from head to toe in a brown robe with a white stripe running across it, with just two holes for his eyes, chose from three canes provided to strike the offenders.

The audience in the gallery was recording the punishment session. The woman was covered in a while burqa and wore a face mask for Covid-19 protocols. However, she dropped on the floor after being struck a few times, and was attended by the policemen and women standing nearby. The man, on the other hand, stood straight looking at the audience during his turn.