Islamic criminal law in Aceh
Offences under the provisions include alcohol consumption, production and distribution, gambling, adultery, rape, sexual harassment, certain intimacies outside marriage, and certain homosexual acts.
In 2016 Aceh processed 324 first instance court cases under Islamic criminal law, and carried out at least 100 caning sentences.
Critics, including Amnesty International, object to the use of caning as a punishment, as well as the criminalization of consensual sex outside marriage.
[2] It differs from other regions of Indonesia due to its distinct political, religious, and ethnic identity, formed during the time of the indigenous pre-colonial states such as the Aceh Sultanate.
[3] Muslims in Aceh are generally more religious than those in other parts of Indonesia, and are proud of their Islamic heritage, earning the province the nickname of "Verandah of Mecca" (Indonesian: serambi Mekkah).
18 of 2001 on Special Autonomy in Aceh granted broader powers to the province, including the authority to formally implement Islamic law.
[1][12] Provisions of Islamic law specific to Aceh are promulgated through qanuns, which have the legal status of perda (regional regulation).
[16] This legal structure also means that not all provisions of Islamic law apply in Aceh, but only the specific elements of it which have been legislated.
[23] Although Indonesia has the death penalty, the central government warned that Aceh's plan to usher in beheading as a punishment for murder was banned under existing national laws.
[25] Since April 2018, the governor of Aceh Irwandi Yusuf stated that caning violators of Islamic law must no longer be carried out in public places.
It criminalizes the consumption and production of liquor (called khamar in the law), gambling (maisir), being alone with someone of the opposite sex who is not a spouse or a relative (khalwat), committing intimacy outside marriage (ikhtilath), adultery (zina), sexual abuse (pelecehan seksual), rape (pemerkosaan), falsely accusing someone of adultery (qadzaf), sodomy between males (liwath), and lesbian acts (musahaqah).
[27] Khalwat offences have the lightest sentence, and may include caning (maximum 10 strokes), 10 months' imprisonment, or a fine of 100 gold grams.
[1] Major institutions relevant to the implementation of Islamic criminal law in Aceh include the ulama council (Indonesian: Majelis Permusyawaratan Ulama, MPU), the Wilayatul Hisbah (WH, sometimes referred to in English as the "Sharia police"), and the sharia courts (Indonesian: Mahkamah Syar'iyah).
[34] The ulema council is composed of both the ulama and "Muslim intellectuals", and on paper is expected to be involved in creating policies together with the government in regencies/cities.
[35] It does not have the authority to formally charge or detain suspects, and thus must work together with the regular police and prosecutors in order to enforce the law.
[39] A judicial review before the Indonesian Supreme Court was brought against the 2014 Qanun by the Institute for Criminal Justice Reform in 2015.
[1] It said that caning can amount to torture and contravenes the Constitution of Indonesia and international human rights law, and can cause long-term physical and mental injuries.
[1] Additionally, it objected to the criminalization of consensual sexual relationships outside marriage, on the grounds that they violate the right to privacy.
