Young Muslim women brutally lashed 23 times for getting too close to their own boyfriends
The shocking punishment occurred in the Indonesian province of Aceh
A GROUP of young women have been caned in the Indonesian province of Aceh for getting too close to their own boyfriends.
Harrowing images show the women screaming in pain as they were caned in front of a jeering crowd for breaking strict Islamic laws.
Aceh is the only province in the Muslim-majority country which imposes sharia law. People can face floggings for a range of offences - from gambling, to drinking alcohol, to gay sex.
The women were among 13 people - seven men and six women aged between 21 and 30 - who were caned on Monday at a mosque in the provincial capital Banda Aceh, as a baying crowd cheered the spectacle.
Six couples were found guilty of breaking Islamic laws that ban intimacy, such as touching, hugging and kissing, between unmarried people.
A man was caned for a less serious offence described as spending time with a member of the opposite sex in a hidden location in a fashion that could lead to adultery.
One 22-year-old woman due to be flogged was given a temporary reprieve as she was pregnant - but Aceh Deputy Mayor Zainal Arifin insisted: "The punishment will be handed down after she gives birth."
The official added that he hoped the canings would serve as a deterrent. He said: "We hope there are no more people in Banda Aceh who break the law in future."
More and more people are being caned in Aceh - with a particular rise in the number of women facing the brutal punishment.
Aceh, on the island of Sumatra, began implementing sharia law after being granted special autonomy in 2001 - in an attempt by the central government in Jakarta to quell a long-running separatist insurgency.
Since then, Islamic laws have been strengthened after the province struck a peace deal with the central government in 2005.
More than 90 percent of Indonesians identify as Muslim, but the vast majority practice a moderate form of the faith.
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