Sharia in Indonesia

Unmarried couples caught having sex could be sent to prison under a proposed revision of Indonesia's criminal code.

An amendment to the penal code was submitted to lawmakers on March 6 and must pass through the House of Representatives before it becomes law.

A Jakarta Globe report claimed that jail sentences of up to five years would be handed out to couples engaged in a sexual relationship outside wedlock.

Wahiduddin Adams, director general for legislation at the Injustice and 'Human Rights' Ministry explained that non-married couples were included in the proposed revision to reflect prevailing norms in Indonesia. He added that the law would only be enacted if a report against an individual was made by others who felt they have been disadvantaged because of the action. He claimed that: Therefore, it cannot [be used] in a sweeping operation in the field .

A blackmailer's charter then, especially useful for settling personal grudges.

Gay men and women living in Indonesia's Aceh province are facing being publicly lashed 100 times under a proposed bylaw backed by politicians.

Illiza Sa'aduddin Djamal, the Banda Aceh Deputy Mayor, is calling for brutal bylaws against gay people city adherence to sharia law. Djamal, who has called homosexuality a social disease that should be eradicated, has complained police are unable to punish gay people under current rules.

Gay rights advocates have slammed the proposed bylaw, calling it a move backward for civilization . We're living in 2013, not in the Middle Ages, said Hartoyo, secretary-general for Our Voice, a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender advocacy group. Hartoyo said:

People are born as transgenders and homosexuals. What's the reason to punish them? Punishing them means she could not appreciate God's creations.