Indonesian adulterer receives corporal punishment under the Sharia law he promoted

As the saying goes, be careful what you pray for, because you might get it. As reported by the London Daily Telegraph, November 1, 2019:

An Indonesian man working for an organisation that helped draft strict religious laws ordering adulterers to be flogged was himself publicly whipped Thursday after he was caught having an affair with a married woman.

Flogging is a common punishment for a range of offences in the deeply conservative Aceh region, including adultery, drinking alcohol, and having gay or pre-marital sex.

It is the only region in the world's biggest Muslim-majority nation that imposes Sharia law, part of a 2005 autonomy deal with the central government that ended a decades-long separatist insurgency.

On Thursday, a masked officer inflicted 28 lashes on the back of Aceh Ulema Council (MPU) member Mukhlis - who like many Indonesians goes by one name - after he was caught with a married woman last month. His companion received 23 lashes.

The MPU, the organisation that Mukhlis works for, advised the local government and legislature on drafting and implementing Aceh's religious law, including public flogging. His role within the agency was not immediately clear.

Flogging a council member underlined the commitment to enforcing Islamic law, said Aceh Besar deputy regent Husaini Wahab.

"No matter who you are... if you violate [Islamic] law you will be whipped," he told reporters after the punishment.

Mukhlis would likely be sacked under his employer's moral code, Wahab added.

Also Thursday, a female university student was flogged a dozen times after she was caught spending the night in a boarding house with a man, who escaped punishment because he was underage.

Dozens of onlookers watched the floggings, with some recording them on their mobile phones.

"I was just curious to see how it was carried out," said spectator Robbi.

In July, three people were flogged 100 times each for having premarital sex.

Rights groups have slammed public caning as a cruel and inhuman punishment, and Indonesia's President Joko Widodo has called for it to end.

But the practice has wide support among Aceh's conservative population.