Woman passes out as she becomes the first ever to be caned for 'committing obscenity live with a man on social media' under Indonesian province's Sharia law

By OLIVIA ALLHUSEN, FOREIGN NEWS REPORTER Published: 09:15, 2 July 2026 | Updated: 09:18, 2 July 2026 A woman has become the first person to be publicly caned in Indonesia's Aceh province for 'committing obscenity live with a man on social media' under its strict Sharia law. Chilling images show her kneeling and screaming in agony as a masked Sharia police 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.  It is unclear how many of the 27 lashes she had received before she fainted. She is seen collapsing to the ground clutching her back as a woman behind her rushes forward to catch her. The woman then lies motionless on the floor as a medic examines her to determine whether she is fit enough for the punishment to continue. Even if she requires medical treatment, she will not escape the sentence, with any remaining lashes postponed until she is deemed well enough to complete the caning. Rows of police officers watched the punishment from their seats as it was carried out in public. The woman's partner was also caned after being accused of taking part in the livestream, which showed the couple kissing on camera, while four other convicts also received lashes. Aceh is the only province in Indonesia that enforces Sharia law, under which same-sex relationships and sex outside marriage are criminal offences. This is not the first time someone has collapsed during a public caning in the province. In June, a woman fainted after she and her partner each received 100 lashes for having sex outside marriage under Aceh's Sharia law. She had to be carried away after collapsing during the punishment. A woman has become the first person to be publicly caned in Indonesia's Aceh province for 'committing obscenity live with a man on social media' under its strict Sharia law Chilling images show her kneeling and screaming in agony as a masked Sharia police officer repeatedly brings the cane down across her back She is seen collapsing to the ground clutching her back as a woman behind her rushes forward to catch her It is unclear how many of the 27 lashes she had received before she fainted The couple were among several people publicly caned that day for offences including extramarital sex arranged through online apps. Public caning is used to punish a wide range of offences under Aceh's Sharia code, including gambling, drinking alcohol, same-sex relationships and having sexual relations outside marriage. Child rape carries the harshest punishment under the province's Sharia laws, with offenders facing up to 200 strokes of the cane, a prison sentence of up to 200 months or a fine equivalent to two kilograms of gold. The public nature of the punishments is intended to shame offenders as well as inflict pain. Canings are often staged outside mosques or in community squares, with crowds gathering to watch and photograph the event. Human rights groups say the public humiliation adds to the cruelty and causes lasting psychological damage. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have repeatedly condemned the practice, saying it violates Indonesia's constitution and its obligations under international law. Amnesty said in a statement: 'Caning contravenes Indonesia's constitution and is in clear violation of international human rights law and standards. 'It constitutes a cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment and can amount to torture in violation of the UN Convention against Torture and other international covenants, to which Indonesia is a State Party.' Local officials have defended the practice as a deterrent and as part of the province's identity, while critics argue it has damaged Indonesia's human rights reputation and inflicted lasting trauma on those forced to endure it. Aceh is the only province in Indonesia that enforces Sharia law, under which same-sex relationships and sex outside marriage are criminal offences This is not the first time someone has collapsed during a public caning in the province The woman's partner was also caned after being accused of taking part in the livestream, which included a couples kissing each other on camera, while four other convicts also received lashes In January, another woman collapsed after she and her partner were given a combined total of 140 lashes for drinking alcohol and having sex outside marriage. She had to be escorted to an ambulance after the public punishment. Last year, two men were each given 76 lashes after being found guilty by a Sharia court of having sex. Sharia law in Aceh was introduced in 2002, with further provisions added the following year. Among the measures introduced in 2003 was a ban on a person being alone with someone of the opposite sex who is neither a spouse nor a relative. In 2018, the province began consulting the public on whether it should introduce beheading as a punishment, although Indonesia's central government warned such plans would not be permitted under national law. The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. 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