In Indonesia, Christian husband and wife were publicly flogged 'for playing with elements of excitement'

In the Indonesian province of Aceh, where Sharia law is officially in force, a couple was publicly flogged by a local court, according to The Guardian. The fault of the husband and wife, Christians by confession, was that they participated in a local entertainment complex in a competition, as a result of which you can exchange coins for prizes or vouchers, which in the opinion of local Sharia judges is a game of chance.

For this, 61-year-old Dahlan Silitonga and 45-year-old Tiya Newk Hwa received six and seven blows with a cane, respectively, in the presence of three hundred people who gathered in the square to watch the execution and accompanied each new blow with cheers. Another participant in the game, named Ridwan, received 19 blows with a stick. Sharia law was established in Aceh province in 2001 as part of an agreement with the Indonesian government to end a long-running insurgency. Dakhlan and Tiya are not the first Christians to be publicly executed according to the law of a faith alien to them. In January, a Christian man was also beaten with a stick by a court verdict for selling alcohol in the province of Aceh. In theory, it is possible to avoid humiliating public punishment under local law - however, the alternative in this case is a lengthy trial and imprisonment.