REPORTER:  Patrick Abboud

She broke Islamic dress code. He was caught gambling. This is life under Sharia law.

SHARIA POLICE WOMAN (Translation):  Women who wear tight clothes are inviting bad things to happen to them, such as rape. Actually crime happens because we invite it.

WOMAN (Translation):  We’re afraid. We’re afraid to go out.

CAPTAIN IBRAHIM LATIF (Translation):  Nine strokes of the cane is actually a really lenient punishment.

We're dealing with a very dangerous man. All we can do is get away as quick as we can. I'm in the city of Langsa in the Indonesian province of Aceh. The Sharia Police control the streets here.

CAPTAIN IBRAHIM LATIF (Translation):  The real Islamic punishment for sex between a married man and a married woman is to be buried in a road.

Captain Ibrahim Latif is in charge.

CAPTAIN IBRAHIM LATIF (Translation):  The man would be buried up to here at the cross roads and whoever passes throws a stone until he dies.  A married woman would be buried up to here and stoned to death.

The law he and his Sharia Police team are enforcing is not justice as most of us would know it. Their work is all in the name of Allah.

CAPTAIN IBRAHIM LATIF (Translation):  As a Muslim, I have a responsibility to God. It’s my job to encourage good and prevent wrong…

This is the first time Captain Latif has allowed cameras to follow him and his Sharia team so closely. Today we're at one of their routine street raids. A checkpoint is setup and within minutes dozens of women are being pulled over. The female sharia officers interrogate the women about their clothing.

SHARIA POLICE WOMAN (Translation):  People are looking at you? This sort of thing causes crimes.

These girls were on their way to school. Their bodies are covered head to toe, but their pants are too tight and their hijabs too revealing.

CAPTAIN IBRAHIM LATIF (Translation):  If her top was longer it would be OK. We’re detaining her.

GIRL (Translation):  It did happen occasionally in the past but not as often as it does now.

GIRL 2 (Translation):  Who wouldn’t be pissed off by this…

SHARIA POLICE WOMAN (Translation):  If the man doesn’t see anything he won’t be aroused. It’s up to us. It’s the women that invite it. The curves of their body can arouse men’s lust.

Those girls told me they're just 15. Are they not too young to be punished?

CAPTAIN IBRAHIM LATIF (Translation):  She could be 15. She could be nine. Once she starts menstruating then Sharia law applies to her. For men, it’s once they start having wet dreams.

In addition to strict Islamic dress codes and harsh penalty for adultery, living with Sharia law in Aceh, Muslim or not, demands no alcohol, no gambling, no homosexuality. Sharia law here also prevents single men and women from showing public affection.  If you dare disobey Sharia law in Aceh, the penalties are severe. Caning is common. In extreme cases, up to 100 lashes. Some crimes come with a prison term of more than three years. Others escape physical harm and instead pay a fine of up to 800 grams of gold. And punishments are set to get even worse under Captain Latif's deadly rule.

CAPTAIN IBRAHIM LATIF (Translation):  A convicted thief could have a hand cut off. A convicted killer will be killed, an eye for an eye.

Aceh is the only part of Indonesia allowed to enforce Islamic Sharia law. It's been implemented here since 2001, when Aceh gained some powers of autonomy. The province struck a deal with the Federal Government in a bid to reduce tension with rebels.  Captain Latif takes us to his police headquarters. He's arranging tonight's raid on unmarried couples. Under the laws of seclusion, they'll hunt down single men and women who are together in what he calls "dark places".

CAPTAIN IBRAHIM LATIF (Translation):  If they have had sex, we ask the families to have the couple legally married. If they refuse, then we take it further. The woman will be punished with a caning.

While we wait for tonight's raid, we head across town to meet a brave woman speaking out against Sharia in Aceh for the first time.

WOMAN (Translation):  I’m still…anxious. It may be time to expose this.

Although a devout Muslim, like many in Aceh, she says the issue here is the heavy-handed enforcement by Captain Latif and his Sharia police.

WOMAN (Translation):  Here we don’t have the opportunity to speak. We can’t be as free as we would like to be. I’m angry on the inside. What can I do? That’s the way the rules are.

Her only form of resistance is a network of women that conspire to avoid the Sharia police traps.

WOMAN (Translation):  So that we don’t get caught in raids we tell each other “Don’t go that way, there’s a raid.”  I have never been arrested and I hope I never will be.

But others are not as lucky. This 16-year-old schoolgirl was arrested by Sharia police in 2012, accused of immorality. There was no proof, but Captain Latif had the arrest publicised. Devastated, she hung herself, leaving this suicide note.

SUICIDE NOTE: Father,Forgive me. I have brought shame on you in the eyes of everyone. But I can honestly say that I have never sold my body to anyone. I will be sad not to see you again.

Her parents are still too afraid to speak out. Her uncle says the family will never recover.

UNCLE (Translation):  During the interrogation she was shamed - there was a story in a magazine. They said she was a teenage prostitute. They had ruined her reputation and her family’s.

In May this year, a 25-year-old woman was discovered in this house with a married man, 8 vigilantes, including a 13-year-old boy, gang-raped her.

CAPTAIN IBRAHIM LATIF (Translation):  She didn’t ask them to do it but she encouraged it, she encouraged the men because she was wearing super-sexy clothes. I think any normal man would have been provoked.

Three of her rapists have since been arrested and are in custody, to be tried by the national criminal court system. However, the rape victim has gone into hiding, fearing retribution, if found guilty of adultery under Captain Latif's version of Sharia law, she will be caned.

CAPTAIN IBRAHIM LATIF (Translation):  The caning doesn’t hurt but it does shame her in public. Our hope is that she won’t re-offend and that others will learn from it.

And in an unexpected turn of events, we were now in danger. My questioning had aroused Captain Latif's suspicion that we were in town to shame Islam. We basically just got a phone call from the head of the independent federation of journalism in Ache who has advised us to leave town immediately.

REBECCA HENSCHKE: He told me his contacts are saying that there's bad rumours about what you're doing here and he suggested definitely don't go on the raid tonight, which we were planning, and to get out of town.

IMRAN (Translation):  There is no point in us continuing our reporting because we are in a difficult situation.

Warned that it was too dangerous to stay, we had no choice but to leave Aceh. The next morning, the local paper headline read, "Australian journalist monitoring Sharia law." With my photo on the front page, we were a sure target for Captain Latif's devoted followers. Human Rights Watch is urging the Indonesian Government to revoke the implementation of Sharia in Aceh.

ANDREAS HARSONO, HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH: People like Ibrahim should be investigated. There are many, many men like him all over Indonesia, not only in Langsa. They are abusing their power.

DJOHERMANSYAH DJOHAN, INDONESIAN GOVT MINISTRY OF INTERIOR (Translation):  Even though it has special autonomy in the area of Sharia law, sharia must not contradict laws in the higher jurisdiction. So this is misguided application of Sharia law.

ANDREAS HARSONO, HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH: The Indonesian government, the Jokowi administration should stop it, should reverse it. If it not reversed it is going to bring Indonesia into great problems. The reason is simple - a modern society cannot move forward if they leave of their society members, woman in this case, behind.

Almost a decade after the devastating tsunami and the end of 26 years of rebel conflict, Aceh would be entitled to enjoy some peace and stability. But with Islamic fundamentalism on the rise and Captain Ibrahim Latif ruling with an iron fist, it seems the future for the people of Aceh remains shrouded in fear.

ANJALI RAO:  Patrick Abboud filming and reporting there. And Patrick is on Twitter now to answer your questions about his time on patrol with Aceh's morality police. If you'd like to know more about Sharia law and its background, there's an explainer article on our website.

Reporter/Camera
PATRICK ABBOUD

Producers
MEGGIE PALMER
DONALD CAMERON

Fixer/Translations
REBECCA HENSCHKE

Editors
WAYNE LOVE
DAVID POTTS

Graphics
GABRIEL VIRATA

Translations/Subtitling
ROBYN FALLICK

28th October 2014