Married woman in Indonesia flogged 100 times for adultery while partner gets 15 lashes

A married woman in Indonesia was flogged 100 times after she confessed to adultery in the conservative Aceh province of the country. On the other hand, her male partner received just 15 lashes after he denied the accusations. 

As per an AFP reporter, the incident happened on Thursday and the flogging was paused for a brief moment because she couldn't bear the pain. 

The head of general investigation division at East Aceh prosecutors office Ivan Najjar Alavi said the court handed down a sentence for the married woman, who has not been named. The sentence was issued after she confessed that she had sex out of her marriage. 

While talking about why the man was flogged for a lesser number of times than the woman, Alavi said that the judges found it difficult to convict the man after because he denied all wrongdoings. 

"During the trial, he admitted nothing, denying all accusations. Thus, [judges] are not able to prove whether he is guilty," Alavi told reporters after a public flogging for Sharia law offenders in East Aceh on Thursday.

Aceh follows religious law as part of a 2005 autonomy deal agreed with the central government that ended a decades-long separatist insurgency.

Aceh is the only region in Muslim-majority Indonesia to impose Islamic law, which allows whipping for charges including gambling, adultery, drinking alcohol, and gay sex.

The incident was watched by dozens who recorded a video and posted it on social media forums. 

After the video went viral, public flogging has been criticised by human rights groups that slammed public caning as cruel, and Indonesia's President Joko Widodo has called for it to end. 

(With inputs from agencies)