Unmarried couple brutally flogged after being caught in hotel room during lockdown

An unmarried couple has been brutally flogged after being caught in a hotel room for breaching Islamic Shariah law, despite partial coronavirus lockdown.

Men and women are receiving the punishment in accordance to the conservative law in the province of Aceh, Indonesia.

A ceremony on April 21 saw six people being flogged for violating fundamentalist interpretations of the religious law.

Those punished included an unmarried couple who were caught together in a hotel room, along with four others who were given 40 lashes for drinking alcohol.

Although the public punishments are open to crowds – due to the coronavirus pandemic only a few turned up, with some obeying social distancing guidelines.

Some onlookers wore face masks, along with one victim who was treated by a medic after the lashings.

Aceh is the only province in Indonesia which adheres to the Shariah Law as it holds a 98% Muslim majority.