Amnesty urges Malaysia to quash caning sentence of lesbians

Amnesty International today urged Malaysia to quash a caning sentence for a lesbian couple, calling the punishment cruel and unjust.

Two unidentified ethnic Malay women, aged 22 and 32, had pleaded guilty for attempting to have sexual intercourse and were sentenced to six strokes of a cane and fined by a Shariah court earlier this month.

The caning in northeast Terengganu state was due yesterday but reportedly postponed to September 3 due to technical reasons. Court officials couldn't be immediately reached for comment.

Amnesty's Malaysian director Gwen Lee welcomed the deferment but said a delay was insufficient.

"We are pleased that the cruel and unjust punishment that was handed down to these two women did not take place as scheduled," Lee said in a statement.

"However, a delay is obviously not enough. Both women must now have their sentences quashed immediately and unconditionally to reverse this injustice once and for all."