Prosecutors seek caning for gay couple in Indonesia's Aceh

A security official from the prosecutor's office escorts two men accused of having gay sex into a holding cell to wait for the start of their trial at Shariah court in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, Wednesday, May 10, 2017. Shariah prosecutors in Aceh province said the two men should each receive 80 lashes, in another blow to the country's moderate image after a top Christian official was imprisoned for blasphemy. (AP Photo/Heri Juanda) (The Associated Press)

Two men accused of having gay sex sit on the defendants' chairs during their trial at Shariah court in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, Wednesday, May 10, 2017. Shariah prosecutors in Aceh province said the two men should each receive 80 lashes, in another blow to the country's moderate image after a top Christian official was imprisoned for blasphemy. (AP Photo/Heri Juanda) (The Associated Press)

BANDA ACEH, Indonesia – Shariah prosecutors in Indonesia's Aceh province say two men accused of having gay sex should each receive 80 lashes. It's another blow to the country's moderate reputation after a top Christian official was sentenced to prison for blasphemy.

The lead prosecutor said Wednesday the two men aged 20 and 23 had "confessed" to being in a gay relationship, which was supported by video footage and other evidence found in their rented room.

If found guilty, the men will be the first to be caned for gay sex under a new Shariah code implemented in Aceh two years ago.

Aceh is the only province in Muslim-majority Indonesia to practice Shariah law.

On Tuesday, the governor of the capital Jakarta was imprisoned to two years for blaspheming the Quran.