An Islamic Shariah court in Indonesia's conservative Aceh province on Monday sentenced two men to public caning 80 times each after Islamic religious police caught them engaged in what the court deemed were sexual acts.

The trial at the Islamic Shariah District Court in Banda Aceh, the provincial capital, was held behind closed doors. Judges have the authority to limit public access to a trial if the case relates to adultery and open it only for the verdict.

A police officer and a prosecutor escort two men accused of having gay sex after they arrived for their sentencing hearing at the Sharia Court in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, on August. 11, 2025. Reza Saifullah / AP

The couple, aged 20 and 21, were arrested in April after residents saw them entering the same bathroom at Taman Sari city

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