Public flogging in Aceh, Indonesia
Public flogging in Aceh, IndonesiaReuters

Two homosexual males were flogged 86 times on Friday while a crowd in Indonesia's Aceh province chanted "hit them harder."

A crowd, which numbered several hundred, included Malaysian tourists and Indonesian locals.

The homosexuals were initially sentenced to 90 floggings, but the sentence was reduced to 86 after they spent four months in prison.

Thirteen others were flogged between 13-27 times for selling or drinking alcohol, and for displaying affection in public places.

One fisherman who watched the floggings with his wife told AFP, "I don't think they're being serious about the flogging - it looks like they are just playing around."

Though the floggings were supposed to be held in prisons, they were held in public due to the fact that "there was no technical guidance yet" regarding how to carry them out in private, security office Muhammad Hidayat explained.

Aceh has followed Sharia Law since 2005.