Confronted with international outrage over the public flogging of gay men, the Indonesian province of Aceh has moved the floggings indoors. Continue reading
Tag Archives: Aceh
LGBT repression grows in Indonesia, with 141 arrests, public caning
Indonesia has ramped up its repression of LGBT people, with a public caning yesterday in Aceh province and the arrests of 141 men over the weekend at an alleged “gay sex party” at a sauna in Jakarta, the nation’s capital and largest city. The raid occurred three weeks after a similar raid in Surabaya, the … Continue reading
Indonesia keeps persecuting its LGBT citizens
Indonesia is continuing to persecute LGBTI people, Human Rights Watch reports. At a time when two men have been jailed on homosexuality charges, Indonesia President Joko Widodo missed an opportunity to roll back repressive sharia laws. Continue reading
Conservative Indonesians vs. LGBTI rights
LGBTI Indonesians often are at odds with conservative Muslims in their quest for recognition of their human rights. Those confrontations pose particular difficulties, because Indonesia is the country with the largest Muslim population — more than 200 million, an estimated 95 percent of the total population. But many disputes beyond just faith-based ones are highlighted … Continue reading
Activists to Indonesian leaders: Stifle anti-LGBT officials
Human Rights Watch is pleading for restraint and tolerance from Indonesian officials in order to protect LGBT citizens of Indonesia from harassment and persecution: Indonesia: Flurry of Anti-Gay Statements by Officials Condemn Bias; Pledge to Protect LGBT Groups Indonesia’s government should defend the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people and publicly condemn … Continue reading
U.N. vs. anti-LGBTI laws; plus news in brief
In brief, here is recent news from countries with anti-LGBTI laws. These items are excerpted with slight modifications from UNAIDS’s Equal Eyes recap of the world’s LGBTI-related news: UNAIDS released a new five year strategy to end the AIDS epidemic that calls for the removal of 76+ countries’ laws against same-sex sexual relations. The new … Continue reading
Indonesia: Detention, ‘rehab’ for 2 women who hugged
The Associated Press reported on Oct. 3: 2 suspected Indonesian lesbians to undergo ‘rehabilitation’ BANDA ACEH, Indonesia — Two suspected lesbians detained earlier this week by Islamic Shariah police in Indonesia’s conservative Aceh province will undergo what an official described Saturday as “rehabilitation,” and won’t be charged with a crime. The women, 18 and 19 … Continue reading
Human rights official blasts anti-LGBTI bias in Indonesia
From Indonesia’s Jakarta Post: The chairman of the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) Hafid Abbas has called for an end to discrimination and stigma against the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community, urging the government to issue more supportive regulations. “They have been marginalized, inflicted with violence, isolation. It cannot be justified. … Continue reading
LGBT fear sharia in Indonesia’s Aceh district
Homosexual acts are not a crime in Indonesia’s criminal code but it remains taboo in many religiously conservative parts of the country, which has the world’s largest Muslim population, and particularly in Aceh province where Sharia law prevails. The Reuters news agency reported that LGBT have recently been overcome with fear. Members of the gay rights … Continue reading
Indonesian region OKs whipping for gay sex, adultery
The Indonesian province of Aceh on Sept. 27 approved a bill that converts strict Islamic Sharia rules on morality into the province’s criminal law, including a punishment of 100 lashes for homosexuality and extramarital sex, Australia’s SBS News and BuzzFeed reported. The law, which also applies to non-Muslims, also punishes the drinking of alcohol, gambling, and … Continue reading
