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Indonesia urged to repeal Aceh's new Islamic criminal code
Jakarta Globe - October 24, 2015
The new criminal code in the country's westernmost province, also known as Qanun Jinayat, allows for people who engage in consensual sexual relationships outside marriage, or in same-sex relationships, to receive up to 30 or 100 lashes, respectively.
"To punish anyone who has had consensual sex with up to 100 lashes is despicable," Josef Benedict, Amnesty International's campaigns director for Southeast Asia, said in a press statement.
"The use of caning as a punishment constitutes cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and may amount to torture," he added. "Injuries sustained from such monstrous physical abuse may well lead to permanent physical injuries, to say nothing of the psychological consequences of being systematically beaten. This is a flagrant violation of human rights and must be repealed immediately."
Aceh recently made headlines when a mob of hard-line Muslims burned down a Protestant church in the province's Aceh Singkil district. A local police chief was dismissed for failing to prevent the attack.
Amnesty in the statement also expressed its concern over new requirements for women reporting rape under Aceh's new criminal code, which also applies to non-Muslims.
"Rape victims must produce evidence of having been raped when filing a complaint. If the authorities deem the evidence is insufficient, the alleged perpetrator can evade punishment merely by taking an oath to assert their innocence," the rights group said. "Women will also be less likely to report rapes, as the new bylaw introduces punishments, including flogging, a fine and the possibility of up to 30 months in prison for making 'false' accusations."
"This creates unacceptable hurdles for investigating and prosecuting rape and other sexual violence, hindering victims from accessing justice and potentially deterring them from reporting rapes in the first place," Benedict explained. "This will only further endanger those at threat of sexual violence."
Aceh, the scene of a decades-long separatist struggle until a peace agreement was reached in 2005, has been granted far-reaching autonomy by the central government in Jakarta. This has allowed provincial authorities to implement Shariah provisions in an otherwise officially secular state. Aceh has already been caning people in recent years for various violations of Shariah rules.
M. Jamil Ibrahim, a deputy chairman of the Aceh Shariah Court, was quoted as saying by Tempo.co on Friday that anybody is free file a request for judicial review, but that such an attempt would likely not be successful.
"It is clear that this qanun is not in contradiction with positive law currently in effect in Aceh and it also doesn't violate human rights," he said.
Meanwhile, Banda Aceh Deputy Mayor Zainal Arifin told Tempo.co that the new criminal code was mainly aimed at raising people's consciousness about Shariah "in all aspects of life."
It was approved by the Aceh provincial legislature in late September last year and signed by Aceh Governor Zaini Abdullah on Oct. 23, 2014, to become effective a year later.
Besides sexual relations deemed a violation of Islamic values, the criminal code also prescribes punishments for drinking alcohol and gambling, including lashes, fines and prison terms.
Papang Hidayat, Indonesia researcher for Amnesty, said in a separate press release that the Qanun Jinayat clearly violates the Indonesian Constitution as well as human rights, especially because of its consequences for women.
He added that caning also forms a violation of the United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, which Indonesia ratified in 1998.
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