Two teenagers were whipped in front of a jeering audience after they were caught cuddling – a crime in parts of Indonesia.
The audience gathered at the public square in Banda Aceh in Indonesia , recording the punishment on their phones.
The sweethearts were found guilty of a “moral crime” – which usually results in up to 29 lashes, say reports.
Public cuddling is a crime under the extreme conservative laws in Aceh, based on a strict regional interpretation of sharia.
Hundreds have been punished since the rule was introduced in the area in 2005.
The girl, 18, who was dressed in a white hijab, closed her eyes as she waited for the bamboo cane to strike.
Her boyfriend was then brought up to the stage by police , also dressed in white, to receive his whipping.
She kept her head down throughout the entire ordeal and was allowed to kneel as the masked man hit her repeatidly.
He was seen raising the stick high and smacking her with it, in the same motion a golf player would his club.
The girl could be seen weeping under her hooded hijab – the pain becoming too much.
He was seen wincing in pain as the cane slapped his skin
As well as cuddling in public, Sharia courts also consider lesbian, gay and bisexual relationships a crime.
Anybody caught having consensual gay sex is punished with 100 lashes, 100 months in jail or a fine of 1,000 grams of gold.
Non-married couples are banned from sitting together at the same table in restaurants, cafes or coffee shops in the religious crackdown.
Non-married couples are banned from sitting together at the same table in restaurants, cafes or coffee shops in the religious crackdown.
Drinking alcohol, women wearing tight clothes and missing Friday Muslim prayers will also face tough punishment.
Outraged by the area’s extreme rules, the world has condemned Aceh for the medieval justice system.
