Banda Aceh Official Named Suspect in Same-Sex Relations Case
Banda Aceh – Civil Service Police Unit (Satpol PP) and Wilayatul Hisbah (WH) investigators, or the sharia police of Banda Aceh City, have named a local echelon II official as a suspect for alleged violation of Islamic sharia law in the form of same-sex relations, or gay conduct.
“Based on sufficient preliminary evidence, both perpetrators have been named as suspects and detained for 20 days starting yesterday,” said Head of Satpol PP/WH Banda Aceh, M Rizal, at a press conference in Banda Aceh on Tuesday.
The arrested echelon II official of the Banda Aceh municipal government has the initials F (58), while the other man, AM (22), is a student at a private university in Banda Aceh. Both were arrested on Wednesday, 12 August, at around 6.50 pm Western Indonesia Time, at the official’s office.
According to M Rizal, based on statements and a number of pieces of evidence, the two are alleged to have violated Aceh Qanun Number 12 of 2025 concerning Amendments to Aceh Qanun Number 6 of 2014 on Jinayat Law, and face caning.
“Officers therefore brought both individuals to the Banda Aceh Satpol PP and Wilayatul Hisbah office for further questioning in accordance with applicable regulations,” he said.
He said his office had secured a number of items, one of which was a folding mattress believed to be related to the case being handled.
“Other evidence cannot be disclosed today because it is still under investigation,” he said.
As to whether the acts of the two individuals were repeated or not, Satpol PP WH Banda Aceh confirmed that this was the first time.
“The folding mattress is one of the items we secured. There are others that we cannot disclose to the public because the investigation is still ongoing. This was their first act,” he said.
Meanwhile, Assistant I for Government, Special Affairs and People’s Welfare of the Banda Aceh Regional Secretariat, Bachtiar, stressed that his office has a strong commitment to enforcing Islamic sharia law without discrimination.
“There is no such thing as being blunt upwards and sharp downwards. We will implement the jinayat qanun for all residents of Aceh. Whoever violates Islamic sharia law in Banda Aceh City,” he said.