Rights group condemns caning of two women in Aceh for violating Islamic law

From The Human Rights Project

Dateline: 08-29-2005, Jakarta

JAKARTA (AP): A leading human rights group on Sunday condemned as "insane" an Islamic court's caning of two unmarried couples in Aceh province for drinking alcohol and being alone together after dark.

They were the latest Aceh residents to fall foul of new regulations that give the staunchly Muslim province the right to impose a version of Islamic Shariah law.

The women fainted after being beaten 40 times on Friday outside a mosque in central Aceh, witnesses said. They were taken to a hospital, but had no serious injuries.

Read the rest of this story on The Jakarta Post

Posted on 08-29-2005