— Indonesia’s Aceh passes law on stoning to death
— AP reports: “Adulterers can be stoned to death and homosexuality is punishable by steep prison terms under a new law passed unanimously by lawmakers in Indonesia’s devoutly Muslim Aceh province Monday.”
— “The law, which reinforces the province’s already strict Islamic laws, is to go into effect within 30 days. Its passage comes two weeks before a new assembly led by the moderate Aceh Party is sworn in following a heavy defeat of conservative Muslim parties in local elections.”
— “Aceh, where Islam first arrived in Indonesia from Saudi Arabia centuries ago, enjoys semiautonomy from the central government. A long-running Islamic insurgency in the province ended in 2005 in the wake of the Indian Ocean tsunami that killed 130,000 there.”
— “A version of Islamic law, or Shariah, that had been introduced in Aceh in 2001 already bans gambling, drinking alcohol and makes it compulsory for women to wear headscarves. Dozens of public canings have been carried out by the local Shariah police against violators of that law”
— “… the most hotly disputed article was on adultery and states that offending married couples can be punished by a minimum of 100 lashings and a maximum of stoning to death.”
— “‘The stoning to death is the toughest punishment included in the (new) Shariah law,’ said Bahrom Rasjid, one of the drafters and a member of the United Development Party, after its passage.”
— “It also imposes severe prison terms for other behavior considered morally unacceptable, including homosexuality, which will be punishable by public lashings and more than eight years in prison.”
— “Aceh Vice Governor Muhamad Nazar said that even though his office opposed the clause on stoning to death it has no legal power to block it. “Whatever law is passed we have to enforce it,’ he said.”
— AFP report – Indonesia: Adulterers face stoning
— “The law replaces elements of the civil code with sharia or Islamic law. It stipulates punishments of up to 100 lashes of the cane for an unmarried person who commits adultery and death by stoning for a married person.”
— AFP: “The Islamic code was introduced under a broad autonomy package granted by Indonesia’s central Government in 2001 to pacify the hardline Muslim region’s demand for independence.”
