Corporal punishment
May 27, 2011
People are thronging around a stage in Banda Aceh, the capital of Indonesia’s most western province. They have gathered to witness the caning of a woman found guilty of violating an Aceh bylaw, or "qanun", prohibiting gambling. The accused woman walks on to the stage amidst loud jeers. Her head is bent low; she tries to hide her face in her headscarf. Amidst cheers, the executioner also gets on the stage; he is draped in black clothes and wears a hood over his head, with slits for his eyes. The lashes are counted one by one, while the onlookers cheer and clap.
By May 2011, more than 20 people were publicly caned in Indonesia’s Aceh Province. In addition to the Aceh bylaws on caning, the Aceh Criminal Code (Qanun Hukum Jinayat), which was passed by the local parliament in 2009, also allows stoning to death for adultery and caning of up to 100 lashes for homosexuality. This code has not yet been implemented, in part because of intense criticism at local, national, and international levels.
Calls to repeal caning
Sam Zarifi, AI’s Asia Pacific director, said the people who received caning experience "pain, fear and humiliation, and caning can cause long-term or permanent injuries." Amnesty International urges the Indonesian government "to stop these punishments, which constitute cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment and often amount to torture."
The rights organization sees caning as a violation of the UN Convention against Torture, which Indonesia ratified in 1998.
At the end of 2010, Human Rights Watch released a report stating that the enforcement of Shariah laws in Aceh resulted in arbitrary arrests, abuses and torture.
But Aceh’s vice governor Muhamad Nazar insists that every government has the right to constitute local laws. "Caning, as it is described in the Quran, can kill people or injure them to an inch of their lives," Nazar says, adding that "the Islamic laws in Aceh are meant to protect human rights and protect people because perpetrators who are caught in the act and found guilty are punished." Nazar argues that "China still has the death penalty and in Singapore people have to remove their shirts before caning. I think AI should understand the Acehnese’s point of view."
Muhamad Nazar insists that the caning in Aceh cannot be considered torture. He sees it as a way to shame lawbreakers and to set an example for others. Aceh adopted caning as form of punishment when it instituted Shariah or Islamic Law in the province. It exists parallel to state laws and only applies to the Muslim population.
Discriminatory law
While admitting that there are weaknesses in the implementation of the law, Rusydi Ali Muhammad, head of the Shariah Law Department in Aceh also slams the AI report as being biased.
"Why can’t the government release bylaws that are only binding for the Acehnese? These bylaws state that they only apply to Muslims. These bylaws are very tolerant. The only ones affected by them are the Muslim Acehnese, they don’t apply to non-Acehnese."
But not all Acehnese see it that way. Lisa Dayani, a women’s rights activist, criticizes the fact that the bylaws don’t seem to apply to every Muslim in Aceh. Those who are close to the authorities are often spared, she complains:
"I’m against caning because it’s been proven that it doesn’t have the desired effect as a deterrent. These procedures are often very unjust against the people who are accused of a crime. In practice, the bylaws are not effective and are a violation of human rights because the detainees are not provided with any legal counsel."
The Committee against Torture has also raised concerns that people detained under Aceh’s bylaws are not afforded their basic legal rights; their guilt is assumed rather than proven.
Author: Uzair/Ziphora Robina
Editor: Sarah Berning