The Rape On A Friday
When the policing of morality turns rogue, nothing can really be as shocking as this case in East Aceh, Indonesia. Two members of the Wilayatul Hisbah – also known as the Sharia Police – in East Aceh have been sentenced to eight years imprisonment for raping a 20-year-old student while on duty. Perhaps the most sacrilegious act of all was that the rape took place on a Friday – a day considered holy by Muslims, and when Muslim men – including the moral policemen – will pray in the afternoon.
Sharia Policemen Who Gang-Raped On Duty
Ex-Sharia Police Officer Muhammad Nazir, 29, and his accomplice Feri Agus, 28, were convicted of their heinous crime. In the early hours of January 8, 2010, both Muhammad Nazir and Feri Agus together with a third suspect who is still at large – Dedy Setiawan, 27 –gang-raped a woman whom they had earlier detained for engaging in an immoral act with her boyfriend. A few hours after committing the act, Muhammad Nazir, Feri Agus and Dedy Setiawan would have been at a mosque for prayers.
Rape Victim Suffered Severe Hemorrhaging
Prosecutor Sayed Muhammad Sayed said that a medical examination confirmed that the victim suffered severe hemorrhaging as a result of the rape. As Muhammad Nazir, Feri Agus and Dedy Setiawan are members of the Sharia Police who should have better morals and piousness, prosecutors were seeking a maximum 12-year imprisonment for the offenders.
Politeness During Trial Can Be A Valid Mitigating Factor
In his verdict, Judge Lukman Bachmid pronounced an 8-year imprisonment to Muhammad Nazir and Feri Agus and he said that this verdict was “relatively heavy” compared to verdicts in other parts of Indonesia for similar rape offenses. Judge Lukman Bachmid said if the offense had caused “detrimental harm to the victim’s future”, he would have delivered the maximum jail sentence to the two offenders. According to Judge Lukman Bachmid, the offenders “had never committed a crime before, they were always polite during the trial and they are the breadwinners for their families.” These were considered valid mitigating factors for a jail sentence other than the maximum.
Reaction From Indonesians
Muhammad Nazir and Feri Agus are undecided whether they will appeal against the verdict. But meanwhile, reactions from rights activists in Aceh and across Indonesia who were aghast at this heinous crime were aplenty. Their call to disband the Sharia Police is getting louder as they claimed that women were increasingly harassed and humiliated by the Sharia Police about their clothing.
Think About It
Judge Lukman Bachmid said if the offense had caused “detrimental harm to the victim’s future”, he would have given a harsher sentence. Is the victim’s future not detrimentally harmed after being gang-raped? The victim was detained for engaging in immoral activities. Is it safe for a woman to be detained and interrogated by men? The 3 Sharia policemen seemed to have junked the Sharia law when they gang-raped the victim. Have they considered the consequences to the organization of the Sharia Police? Would ordinary Indonesians still trust the Sharia Police? Or would the Sharia Police be disbanded?
Previous posts
No More Tight Pants For Muslim Women In West Aceh, Indonesia
Aceh – Revisiting Sharia Law On Stoning
Aceh & Sharia Law
Sharia Law In Aceh – Caning & Death
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