Sharia social distancing: Unmarried couple found together in a hotel are flogged away from the usual crowd of spectators in Indonesia's Aceh province due to Covid-19 concerns

• Six people were flogged for violating Islamic law in the arch-conservative Muslim province of Aceh today
• Only a few people were watching, in contrast to the large crowds of spectators who sometimes attend 
• Many of those watching were wearing masks, while the cane-wielding enforcer wears a hood in any case 
• Here’s how to help people impacted by Covid-19

Six people were flogged for violating Islamic law in an arch-conservative province of Indonesia today, in a ceremony which was scaled down because of the coronavirus pandemic. 

The public canings in Aceh province sometimes attract large crowds of eager spectators taking pictures on their phones, but today's punishments were carried out indoors with just a handful of people there. 

One unmarried couple were punished after they were caught together in a hotel room, while another four were flogged 40 times each for drinking alcohol. 

Many of those watching were wearing masks, while the cane-wielding enforcer wears a hood in any case - but not all of the victims themselves had their faces covered.  

Flogging is common for a range of offences in the region at the tip of Sumatra island, including gambling, drinking alcohol and having gay sex. 

Today's six victims were convicted before the coronavirus outbreak and officials decided to continue with the canings on a scaled-back basis, local media says. 

'To comply with current conditions, we're trying to cut unnecessary procedures like the usual opening speech,' said Safriadi, the official responsible for Sharia punishments in provincial capital Banda Aceh. 

'We just carried out the flogging directly to make it simpler. Whipping will still go on, but we're limiting the number of people involved,' added Safriadi, who goes by one name. 

Despite the painful punishment, one man whipped for drinking alcohol - who also served a three-month jail term for the offence - said he was relieved to be free to join his family for the fasting month of Ramadan/

'I got bored in prison and now I'm finally a free man,' he said. 'Ramadan is coming and I couldn't imagine fasting in prison.'  

Aceh is the only region in the world's biggest Muslim-majority country that imposes Islamic law. About 98 per cent of Aceh's five million residents are Muslims and therefore subject to the law, known locally as Qanun. 

A 100-stroke punishment is reserved for the most severe crimes and offenders may also be sentenced to prison time. 

Rights groups have slammed public caning as cruel, and Indonesia's President Joko Widodo has called for it to end, but the practice has wide support among Aceh's population. 

Aceh adopted sharia after it was granted special autonomy in 2001, an attempt by the central government to quell a long-running separatist insurgency.