Beheading could become a penalty for murder under Sharia law in Indonesia’s Aceh province

The conservative Indonesian province of Aceh – known for publicly caning gay people, adulterers and gamblers – is considering the introduction of beheading as a punishment for murder, a top Islamic law official said on Wednesday.

Syukri M Yusuf, the head of Aceh’s Sharia Law and Human Rights Office, said the provincial government has asked his office to research beheading as a method of execution under Islamic law and to consult public opinion.

“Beheading is more in line with Islamic law and will cause a deterrent effect. A strict punishment is made to save human beings,” Yusuf told reporters. “We will begin to draft the law when our academic research is completed.”

Aceh is the only province in Muslim-majority Indonesia to practise Sharia law, a concession made by the central government in 2005 to end a decades-long war for independence.

Its implementation has become increasingly harsh and now also applies to non-Muslims. Last year, the province for the first time caned two men for gay sex after vigilantes broke into their home and handed them over to religious police.