Indonesian Widow Gang-Raped For Alleged Adultery Will Now Be Caned Publicly

An Indonesian woman who was gang-raped as a punishment for allegedly sleeping with a married man may be caned publicly for violating the Islamic sharia laws of Aceh province, an official said Wednesday.

The 25-year old widow was raped by eight men after they found her with a married man in her house last week. After beating up the 40-year-old man and dousing the two with sewage, the pair was turned over to Islamic police in conservative Aceh province, the Associated Press reported.

The alleged attack occurred early Thursday in Lhokbani, a village in East Aceh district, the Guardian reported.

Pending an investigation, the widow and the married man have been recommended to be caned nine times for violating religious law, Ibrahim Latief, the head of Islamic Shariah law in the district, said.

Its preliminary finding was that the two were about to have sex at that time, but Latief contended they violated Shariah law by being in the same room together. They also admitted to having had sex earlier, he said.

According to Agence France-Presse, the rapists would also be punished. Police have arrested three suspected rapists, including a 13-year old boy, while five others are on the run.

Although Indonesia has a policy of secularism, it allows Aceh, a predominantly Muslim province on the northern top of Sumatra, to implement a version of Sharia Islamic law.

Special police enforce Islamic law in Aceh, the only province in Indonesia that has sharia. There is also a regular police force to enforce the criminal law for offences such as rape.

Latief said the eight could be caned for raping the woman, but "it will be too lenient if they just received the same punishment of nine strokes," the AP reported.

A maximum penalty of 15 years is carried out for the criminal charge of rape.

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