Muslim province canes Christian for selling alcohol

An elderly Christian woman has been caned in a conservative Indonesian province for selling alcohol, the first time someone from outside the Islamic faith has been punished there under strict religious laws.

The 60-year was whipped nearly 30 times with a rattan cane before a crowd of hundreds in Aceh province on Tuesday, an official said, along with a couple who were subjected to 100 lashes for committing adultery.

Aceh is the only province in the predominantly Muslim country that applies sharia law, and public canings for breaches of Islamic code on a regular basis and often attract huge crowds.

Those caught engaging in adultery, same-sex relationships, drinking and even associating with unmarried members of the opposite sex can end up facing the cane.

Though the law once only applied to Muslims, a bylaw that took effect late last year allowed sharia regulations to be applied to non-Muslims in certain situations, said Lili Suparli, a senior official at the Central Aceh prosecutor's office.

"This is the first case of a non-Muslim being punished under Islamic criminal bylaw," he said, referring to the punishment of the Christian woman.

Aceh began sharia law after being granted special autonomy in 2001, an effort by the central government in Jakarta to quell a long-running separatist insurgency.

Islamic laws have been strengthened since the province struck a peace deal with the central government in 2005.

More than 90 percent of Indonesians describe themselves as Muslim, but the vast majority practice a moderate form of the faith.