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March 15, 2006
Indonesia: Couple Arrested For Breaking Islamic Law
We reported earlier that following the Tsunami's devastation, Islamic vigilantes are now acting as enforcers for the Islamic courts in Aceh province.
Now, Australia's ABC News reports that a member of the liberation/independence group GAM and a woman, a French aid worker were found by vigilantes in a car together, at midnight.
They were found in the stationary vehicle by locals on Monday night who turned them over to the religious "police".
Amni bin Ahmad Marzuki, who was given a 15 year sentence by Indonesian authorities, with four negotiators, was a leading figure in the negotiations on Acehnese independence. After the first set of talks collapsed, he was jailed in 2003, but was released in August 2005 after a peace agreement was finally signed.
He now faces the prospect of being given nine strokes of the cane if the Banda Aceh Sharia Court finds him guilty. The province has adopted partial Islamic law, which forbids unrelated men and women being alone together.
Sharia was introduced to the province officially in 2002, and already more than 100 people, men and women, have been caned under the draconian rules of Sharia.
Fortunately for the French aid worker, she is not a Muslim, so is not covered by the terms of Sharia law, and will not be put on trial, though she may be brought in as a witness.
GAM, or Gerakan Aceh Merdeka, has been fighting for independence from Indonesia for thirty years. 15,000 people have died during this battle for independence.
We reported recently on the same sorts of laws being applied in other parts of Indonesia, such as Tangerang, a satellite city of Jakarta, the capital.
The case is reported in the Jakarta Post but will be moved within 24 hours. It appears that Amni bin Ahmad Marzuki is aged 34, and the French woman, called only "PC" is 24. They were discovered at the village of Lambhuk (Lambok) and handed over to local police around 1 am Tuesday, with the support of the Wilayatul Hisbah (Sharia vigilantes).
According to the Jakarta Post: "Women's groups in the area have protested the implementation of the regulations, saying they were draconian, sexist and invaded people's right to privacy."
Well of course they are. What else can one expect from Islam?
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at March 15, 2006 4:19 PM
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