An Islamic law authorizing the stoning to death of adulterers and the whipping of homosexuals in Indonesia’s Aceh province will be reviewed, officials said.
The law enacted by the former Aceh Legislative Council on Sept. 14 would be reconsidered by the newly elected council and has not been signed into effect by the governor of the conservative Muslim province.
Human rights activists and officials in Jakarta have expressed concern that lawmakers in Aceh are out of step with the rest of the mainly moderate Muslim country and have asked for the law to be withdrawn.
“The governor has refused to sign the by-law because of the stoning [provision], which is identical to a death sentence,” Aceh government spokesman Abdul Hamid Zein said.
“From the beginning the Acehnese government hasn’t agreed with the stoning law. We hope the parliament will discuss the law again,” he said.
The new regulations — which allow punishments of up to 400 lashes for child rape, 100 lashes for homosexual acts and 60 lashes for gambling — were unanimously passed by lawmakers in the final weeks of the outgoing parliament.
They are supposed to replace elements of Indonesia’s secular criminal code, causing umbrage in Jakarta which wants to portray Indonesia as a developing, modernizing democracy with a moderate Muslim majority.
Earlier this month the Acehnese government publicly disowned Miss Indonesia beauty pageant winner Qori Sandioriva, 18, because she did not wear an Islamic veil during the contest.
US-based Human Rights Watch has urged the central government and the new local parliament in Aceh to overturn the stoning law, saying “stoning and flogging constitute torture in any circumstances.”
Acehnese Governor Irwandi Yusuf has stated his opposition to the draconian measures, putting him at odds with more hardline religious leaders.
Provincial parliament speaker Hasbi Abdullah said the parliament, which was inaugurated on Sept. 30, was “generally” opposed to the stoning law and its revision would be a priority for the new lawmakers.
But Moharriadi Syafari, from the influential Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), said the law had automatically come into force in the middle of this month, or 30 days after it was approved by the outgoing parliament.
“The by-law comes into effect 30 days after it’s been approved even if the governor has refused to sign it,” he said. “Those who disagree can seek a judicial review at the Supreme Court. If the parliament is to revise it, it will have to wait a year as that’s the rule.”
He said outsiders had the wrong impression if they thought the law would lead to people being stoned to death and whipped in Indonesia.
“Just because the law has been passed, it doesn’t mean many people in Aceh will be stoned. It’s very difficult to prove adultery. Even if people admit to adultery, they will not automatically be stoned,” he said.
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