Two Indonesian Christians punished for violating Islamic law on gambling

Banda Aceh, Indonesia

Two Christian men were publically flogged in Indonesia for consuming alcohol and gambling. This was a rare instance of non-Muslims facing a punishment frequently condemned by rights groups in the country's ultra-conservative Aceh province.

Aceh is the only province in the world's most populous Muslim-majority country that imposes Islamic law.

The two Christians were among seven people publically flogged in the province on Monday.

The caning comes less than two weeks after a male couple were flogged nearly 80 times each for having gay sex, which is outlawed under local Islamic law.

On Monday, the two accused received 40 lashes each from a masked sharia officer who beat their backs with a stick.

One of them, identified only as JF, said he chose flogging to avoid a criminal prosecution that could have seen him jailed up to six months.

Non-Muslims, who have committed an offence that violates both national and religious laws, can choose to be prosecuted under either system.

Flogging of non-Muslims is rare, however, with only a handful subjected to the punishment in recent years for crimes including gambling and selling alcohol.

The five others were Muslims who were whipped for adultery and drinking alcohol -- both violations of religious law.

Meanwhile, human rights groups have slammed public caning as cruel, and Indonesia's President Joko Widodo has called for it to end.