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Punks in The Police Camp School

Indonesian sharia police are “morally rehabilitating” more than 60 young punk rock fans in Aceh province on Sumatra island, saying the youths are tarnishing the province’s image.

Since being arrested at a punk rock concert in the provincial capital Banda Aceh on Saturday night, 59 male and five female punk rock fans have been forced to have their hair cut, bathe in a lake, change clothes and pray.

“We feared that the Islamic sharia law implemented in this province will be tainted by their activities,” said Banda Aceh deputy mayor Illiza Sa’aduddin Djamal, who ordered the arrests.

Hundreds of Indonesian punk fans came from around the country to attend the concert, organised to raise money for orphans. Police stormed the venue and arrested fans sporting mohawks, tattoos, tight jeans and chains, who were on Tuesday taken to a nearby town to undergo a 10-day “moral rehabilitation” camp run by police. A girl cried as women in headscarves cut her long unruly hair into a short bob, and some of the men groaned as their heads were shaved.

Aceh, on the northernmost tip of Sumatra island, adopted partial sharia law in 2001 as part of a special autonomy package aimed at quelling separatist sentiment. Only Muslims can be charged under sharia law, although the non-Muslim community is expected to follow some laws out of respect. Nearly 90 percent of Indonesia’s 240 million people are Muslims, but the vast majority practise a moderate form of Islam.

Photographer: Chaideer Mahyuddin
Camera: Canon EOS 1D Mark III and EOS 5D
Website: http://matakaki.com