Evidence of the Crime of Adultery in the Implementation of the Qanun Jinayat in Aceh, Indonesia

This study aims to analyse the implementation of the Qanun Jinayat, or Islamic criminal law in Aceh, Indonesia, which uses 'raids' as one of the instruments for implementing the Qanun Jinayat. From the raid process, the perpetrator was interrogated by residents and asked to make a confession and take an oath that he had committed adultery. This confession is then used as the only evidence for a judge's consideration in making a hudud decision. The Qanun Jinayat is a Criminal Law that regulates behavior that is prohibited by Sharia, such as Khamar (consumption of alcohol), Maisir (Gambling), Khalwat (certain intimacy outside of marriage), Ikhtilat (mixing between women and men), Liwath (Homosexuality), Musahaqah (Lesbianism), Qadzaf (false accusation), Zina (having sex without married), sexual harassment, and rape with punishments including flogging, fines and imprisonment. In article 182 number 5 Qanun Aceh Number 7 of 2013 concerning the Jinayat Procedure Law, it is stated that"especially in the case of adultery, it is proven by 4 (four) Witnesses who directly saw the process which shows that adultery has occurred at the time, place and person who the same." However, what happened in Aceh, of the 135 convictions for adultery crimes from in 2016 to 2020, all were based on the suspect's confession, not witness evidence and DNA. This study examines two things: First, how the raid violated a person's right to privacy because this is not regulated in the Qanun Jinayat. Second, the evidence for confessions by the perpetrators obtained through the interrogation process as a result of raids by residents is a confession given out of necessity, not the suspect's conscious confession. This paper uses a qualitative method by utilising in-depth interviews conducted in Banda Aceh, Aceh, Indonesia. This paper concludes that the presence of raids has simplified the evidence for adultery crime in the Qanun Jinayat.