“After this problem is resolved, we will send him to an Islamic boarding school to be educated so he won’t be deviant anymore.” “This is an ordeal for our family,” he said. The father of one of the defendants, who requested anonymity, previously told Digital Journal that he was unaware that his son was not straight before he was arrested. One of the defendants is seen being repeatedly pushed by another man who prevents the couple from leaving the room, while the other defendant is naked and visibly distressed as he calls for help on his mobile. The video shows vigilantes kicking, slapping and insulting the men, according to Agence France-Presse. The men were informed on by their neighbour, who took video footage. “This is barbaric – this is another low point for Aceh, and also for Indonesia,” Andreas Harsono, Indonesia researcher for Human Rights Watch, told the South China Morning Post.
The judge said while handing down the verdict that since the men had been “proven legally and convincingly guilty of committing gay sex, the defendants are sentenced to 85 strokes of the cane in public”.
