Two men publicly caned for having s.e.x in Indonesia [photos]

Two men in Indonesia’s conservative Aceh province were publicly caned each 77 times Thursday after neighbors reported them to Islamic religious police for having s.e.x.

Dozens of people witnessed the caning at Banda Aceh’s Tamansari city park. It’s the third time that Aceh, the only province in Indonesia to practice Shariah law, has caned people for homosexuality since the Islamic law was implemented in 2015 as a concession made by the government to end a long-running separatist rebellion.

The men, aged 27 and 29, were whipped across the back and winced with pain as a team of five enforcers wearing robes and hoods took turns, relieving one another after every 40 strokes.

The men were arrested in November after residents became suspicious and broke into their rented room where they were caught having s.e.x, said Heru Triwijanarko, Aceh’s acting Sharia police chief.