Countries That Still Use Physical Punishments

Whether it’s chopping off limbs, beating each other with sticks, or just good old-fashioned prison – human beings have found a heck of a lot of ways to punish criminal behaviour over the years.

We like to think that in the modern day such barbaric practices like breaking on the wheel, hanging, and stretching on the rack are all relics from yesteryear, confined to the annals of history where our modern sensibilities are far too pleasant to ever engage in such kinds of torture.

But you’d be wrong.

Dead wrong.

Because all over the world today there are still physical punishments carried out that seem more at place in medieval times than they do our more contemporary international legal systems. They’re backed up by strict enforcement, religious police, and state apparatus designed to dole out an unimaginable amount of pain in the name of maintaining law and order. People are then left permanently disabled and psychologically scarred, and all for acts that likely wouldn’t even register among most modern western nations today.

So, who are the countries sentencing like it’s 1399? What kind of crimes and procedures can the condemned individuals expect to face? And probably the most interesting question of all: does it actually help bring crime rates down?

Let’s find out.

The Lash

Before we begin, a few quick caveats.

We’re largely not going to be discussing traditional forms of execution today; as they are often a grim category all their own. Lethal injection, hanging, firing squad, gas chamber, guillotine – all are dark in their own right, and are certainly prone to being botched – but they’re just not the focus of today’s discussion. No, this is about countries that inflict specific (mostly) non-lethal punishments designed to cause physical suffering, mutilation, and in some cases public spectacle.

Death might be the end point or an accidental side effect, but it’s not the main goal. A lot of countries actually like to have these kinds of punishments written into their laws but never use them, but you’d get bored of hearing about that after about 30 seconds, so that’s not what this article is about either. Only recent cases count.

We’re also not going to be able to cover every single place and instance in which these various punishments have been carried out. So, if we miss anything you thought was a good example of what we’re talking about today, let us know – because engagement is engagement, even if you’re talking about stuff like this judicial torture.

Right, let’s do this.

So, when we began researching this topic, we really didn’t know where to start. The topics are so wide-ranging, varied, and all have their own interesting legal frameworks, that any number of countries probably could have gotten into this article for one reason or another. But time and time again throughout said research, the same punishment kept rearing its ugly head. Hideous, yet so simple that even the implement they use is straight as an arrow.

We’re talking about caning.

Caning

Caning is a practice that has rather a lot of history in East Asia as a judicial punishment, but the differences between how countries carry it out are pretty stark. It’s mostly undertaken by Singapore and Malaysia, as well as in the Aceh region of Indonesia, but other nations may well hold some form of the practice as well within their legislation. Caning is exactly how it sounds: a person is beaten with a stiff and flexible rod or cane, usually made out of something like rattan, but metal is possible too. The person is usually stricken on their bare buttocks, which sounds funny until it isn’t.

It is cataclysmically painful. It leaves deep and painful wounds that take days to heal enough to even dress them properly without reopening. The risks to the individual are highly apparent: deep tissue injury, blood loss, shock, collapse, and the reopening of wounds if strokes are spread out or repeated. The bruising and scarring can last a lot longer, the infection risk has to be managed, and the psychological torment can stick around for a lifetime. Rattan canes – which are the standard for judicial punishment in this part of the world – can reportedly travel up to 160 kilometres per hour during the stroke itself.

That’s about 100 miles per hour. That’s faster than most of you drive on the highway, across a tiny thin cane, tearing straight into an individual’s flesh over and over again. When you look closely, you can see that this is definitely more of a punishment in some nations solely doled out for the pain alone rather than the humiliation and spectacle, as canings handed out in judicial courts like in Singapore are carried out behind closed doors in detention facilities.

In fact, Singapore’s system is very familiar if you know anything about their harsh, yet procedural and bureaucratic, approach to law and order. Even a doctor has to be on hand to ensure that the individual is fit to receive their punishment both before and during it.

And not everyone is considered fit to be able to receive it. Singapore’s Criminal Procedure Code bars women from being sentenced to the practice, as well as men over 50, and those sentenced to death (because beating a guy you’re already going to execute is a waste of time and resources). If a person collapses or passes out – which absolutely can happen – the doctor is there to certify whether the individual is fit to continue.

How many do you get? Well, it depends on the crime. In Singapore, the maximum for one person is 24. For juveniles it’s 10.

Vandalism might get you between three and eight strokes. Violent crimes like armed robbery can get you 12, so you can imagine the kinds of crimes one has to commit in order to get 24. In an interesting new twist, Singapore’s caning laws have been expanded to include offences related to scams. According to the Associated Press, the Singaporean government announced in late 2025 that those found guilty of scamming will face mandatory caning in an effort to deter fraud, by far the country’s biggest crime problem. Scams made up 60% of all reported crime in Singapore between 2020 and the first half of 2025. About 190,000 scam cases caused losses of nearly 3.7 billion Singapore dollars (or $2.8 billion American dollars) during that period. Well, now scammers will have to be aware that if they’re caught, they’re going to get one hell of a ban hammer. For Singapore such punishments are all about ensuring discipline in a hyper-modern state. But elsewhere it’s slightly different.

In Malaysia, there is still the judicial canings that occur for various crimes, but the country – with its large Muslim population – has religious canings as well. They’re generally considered less harsh as they’re usually done clothed, and people don’t always appear to be smacked on the backside, but in other places like the back as well. That still doesn’t mean people come out unscathed though. The real punishment is the social stigma and shame which comes alongside the pain. Whilst judicial canings happen behind closed doors, religious-based canings are carried out in public amidst crowds of onlookers. The social shaming is part of the punishment – the idea that everyone around you knows what you did and is watching you face the consequences for it – acts as a humiliation for the individual, as well as a warning for the wider collective. Fail to behave and this could be you.

The judicial caning is much the same as Singapore in terms of the stroke limit, but it can also be handed down for over 60 offences within the country including immigration-related offences. One Burmese immigrant who was caned told a news publication:

“I was hit once very hard with a cane. It cut my skin and hurt very much. There was blood. I could not wear any proper clothing for five days after the caning because of the pain and because it stuck to my cut. I still have nightmares about it. I cannot bear thinking about it.”

He also said the pain was like being electrocuted. I think I’ll leave it there.

Religious canings are more widespread, they can be given to women, and generally seem designed to police morality. Such laws can also be pretty strict. In late 2015, a Malaysian man was caned at a mosque in the northeastern state of Terengganu for the Islamic crime of being in proximity of a non-family member of the opposite sex – otherwise known as “khalwat”. Scandalous, I know.

He got six strokes, which is certainly no picnic. Or how about 2018, when the Malaysian state caned two women in a courtroom watched by dozens of people after they were supposedly convicted of attempting to have sex. They got six strokes and a fine of $800 dollars each.

In Aceh, Indonesia though any semblance of the judicial side goes out the window, it’s entirely dedicated to public moral theatre, come one come all. Aceh is a small province in the very northwest tip of the country which has special autonomy and Sharia-based criminal bylaws, so caning is used much more frequently there despite not being overly used in the rest of modern-day Indonesia. Aceh’s criminal code is pretty harsh too. According to human rights organisation Amnesty International, the Islamic criminal code includes caning of up to 100 lashes for a whole host of crimes: same-sex relationships, premarital sex, adultery, alcohol consumption, gambling, intimacy outside of marriage, khalwat, sex crimes, and accusing someone of adultery without four witnesses just to name a few.

In January of 2026 alone a couple were sentenced to 140 lashes EACH for various alcohol and sex related crimes. The 21-year-old woman accused passed out due to the pain during what was recorded as a record number of strokes for the country. She was carried off into an ambulance, but it’s unknown if she finished receiving the rest of her sentence at a later date. That’s not all: back in August of 2025 authorities in Aceh caned two men publicly who had been caught kissing with dozens of lashes each.

So, you can see caning really runs the gamut, from procedural and bureaucratic, to punitive and socially damaging, and what you might end up with depends on which of these places’ laws you break. You know what they say, spare the rod, spoil the criminal… or something.

Flogging

As it turns out the cane isn’t the only thing that people are beaten with as a punishment in various countries, there’s also the lash.

Flogging is a lot more morally simplified than caning and its judicial-religious split. When it comes to flogging, it’s all religious courts and sentences, very much following the same kind of pattern as in Aceh, just often done in other places and not always with a cane.

Actually, in a key difference to caning, floggings can be carried out with quite a wide variety of different instruments. There are metal and leather whips, rods, sticks, cables, or more commonly some kind of leather strap. The flogging targets anywhere where striking will not cause permanent disability, mainly aiming for things like the buttocks and legs. It is usually carried out in public and fully clothed.

Probably the country most associated with public flogging is Afghanistan since the return of the Taliban and their Sharia law system in 2021. In January of 2026 alone, the Taliban’s de facto Supreme Court reported public floggings of 147 men and 15 women amidst an even greater crackdown on human rights, which for the Taliban I was surprised to learn was even possible. Flogging in Afghanistan is a lot more chaotic than it is in other countries too.

Whilst other countries try and keep a strict legal basis for such practices, in Afghanistan often the individual has no legal representation, the courts are a sham and verdicts are passed down quickly. 20-40 lashes is a pretty common number to be sentenced to, and it is usually attributed to crimes like theft, drug and alcohol related offences, or the old reliable “moral offences.” Afterwards those who are flogged live in fear and isolation. Many are socially cast out, ostracised by their communities like unclean lepers.

Many are forced into lives of silence or to flee the country entirely if they can. The psychological damage of a flogging there lasts a lot longer than the bruises ever will.

And there WILL be bruises. Physically, flogging is hardly a day at the funfair. It causes severe pain shock, bruising, welts, bleeding, open wounds, fainting, and lasting scars depending on the force and implement used.

Perhaps the most famous modern case of flogging though comes from Saudi Arabia, where Raif Badawi was sentenced to 1,000 lashes given in increments of 50 for 20 weeks.

His crime? He made a website for political debate within the country. Accounts describe him in agonising pain as his first set was carried out. It was so severe that his second set was delayed as doctors decided he was unfit to receive it. He was released in 2022. It’s unknown how many times he was beaten in the end, but they used a wooden cane for when they did.

There are a lot of other countries that can flog or cane people, and if we talked about them all we’d be here all day, but despite that Iran is also worth a quick mention here as one of the countries that has carried a sizeable number of beatings, over 2,100 between 2000 and 2020 (and yes that includes children). Flogging can be sentenced as a punishment for 148 different crimes in Iran, including improper hijab, theft, and all the other so-called morality cases we’ve discussed thus far. The number of lashes there can go as high as around 150, but 74 is often a common number administered, which is brutal to undertake in a single sitting.

But far beyond beatings and bludgeonings, believe it or not Iran’s punishments can get worse.

Far worse.

Iran: From the Long Arm of the Law

Just like current events, we’re actually going to be staying in Iran for a little while, because our next two punishments are both carried out there. And the first one is absolutely mortifying.

Amputation

Amputation.

As far as we could find in our research, a lot of countries actually have amputations written into their religious law, but almost no countries in the modern day carry it out even amongst the very few sentenced cases. That is – except Iran – which has a half-century track record of enforcing its butchery.

The main offence is theft, specifically theft that qualifies for the fixed Islamic-law punishment, or Hadd – likely so-called because when you committed the crime you “Hadd” all of your limbs intact. Many of you have likely heard of the specific statute in Sharia Law which stipulates that theft results in the chopping off of the hand, although Iran do this somewhat differently than to how you might expect.

Firstly, they don’t tend to separate the hand at the wrist, they chop off four fingers, leaving the condemned with just a thumb and a palm, effectively destroying the idea of the hand without severing someone’s arm since 2013. It even allows someone to retain some sense of control over their limb. How kind of them.

What’s more, they do it without anaesthesia. As we said, the pain and the suffering is the point, as well as in this case, the permanent disability. Since 2013 Iran has carried out these amputations via a guillotine machine. The person is blindfolded before their hand is placed into the mechanism and the fingers are subsequently separated. Iran carried out an instance of this in 2025 according to Human Rights Watch, when three men had their fingers amputated at Iran’s Urumieh Central Prison. Multiple sources indicate that the trials the men had were not fair. So, it is frighteningly recent but it is rare. Between 2000 and 2020, Iran carried out around 129 amputations versus their over 2,100 floggings. Roughly an average of 10 every year.

Some legal summaries note that there are harsher escalations for repeat offences or certain crimes, such as losing one hand and the opposite foot (known as cross-amputation) for highway robbery. But largely this doesn’t appear to occur in Iran, and if it does it seems to be quite uncommon. Maybe even the Iranian government has its limits to what it’s willing to dole out to its citizens.

Saudi Arabia is the only other country that has carried out an amputation semi-recently back in 2000 when three men underwent the practice. Amputation sentences in the kingdom though have been commuted since 2012, so that’s something. They still do behead people in the public square though, that’s still allowed.

Qisas

And then there’s our most introspective and psychologically chilling form of punishment today. Yes, it’s Iran again. And it’s called qisas.

It’s usually translated as “retribution in kind.” An eye for an eye. Sometimes literally.

Certain crimes, notably intentional murder or bodily injury, qualify for qisas which stipulates that individuals will be punished in a way that is broadly equal to the crime they committed.

But here’s the kicker. It’s not up to the condemned. It’s not up to the state either. The decision actually lies with the victim or their families of what to do. There are three options for the qisas system. One is the punishment in kind, one is the payment of a “diya” or “diyat” in which financial compensation is received for the wrongs committed, but many see it as blood money. The third option is to forgive, letting the condemned off the hook.

It’s an interesting system because it places the responsibility of the punishment with the victim or their families, whilst the state just carries out the law as it’s written and within its institutions, providing the literal machinery of enforcement. This can apply to murder as we mentioned which results in a life given for a life taken, but that’s arguably less grizzly than if it’s some kind of bodily injury. This can in theory be applied to any kind of bodily injury up to and including amputations, but mostly it’s reserved for a special kind of punishment.

Blinding.

There have been several marquee cases related to judicial blinding in Iran, usually as a result of people having committed acid attacks where the victim then lost their vision. Again, it’s rare, but it does happen. The first time it was carried out was in March of 2015 when Amnesty International reported that Iran had carried out a blinding punishment against a man convicted of an acid attack. Another acid attack case in 2015 involved a qisas-based sentence of someone being sentenced to losing one eye and one ear.

The sentence was reportedly delayed because it was so grotesque that doctors refused to carry it out. More recently in 2022 three prisoners – two men and one woman – also were sentenced to being blinded following acid attacks.

Another example of this though has nothing to do with acid at all. IranWire reported in 2021 that a 45-year-old man was sentenced to being blinded after he got into a fight with another man who ended up losing his right eye in the scuffle.

What this also reveals is a pretty gruesome detail. When Iran says an eye for an eye, it means that shit.

Because in the fighting case, the prisoner was rendered unconscious before the eye was destroyed and removed by medics, fairly similar to the offence that occurred. So, what do you think they do in the acid attack cases? Yeah, let’s just say they were getting an eyeful. Other cases with this method of justice has described how doctors dripped acid into the eyes of the guilty.

Overall qisas are a pretty brutal punishment that allows for individuals and their families to effectively be the judge, jury, and executioner over those who have wronged them. Qisas can apply beyond just the eyes in terms of things like wounds and even organs, but whilst Iran reserves the right to offer this as an option to people, it seems that they don’t in practice.

Stoning

But even with how barbaric that might seem, it is nothing compared to the terror and pain of the final punishment we’re talking about today.

Stoning.

Stoning is a biblical sentence, both in a historical sense and in an ethical one.

It is a brutal, isolating, painful, and nasty way to die. Thankfully it’s pretty rare all over the world, but it – rather unbelievably – does still take place in the modern day.

It is almost always related to sex-related moral offences like adultery, homosexuality, or sex out of wedlock, and uniquely it’s often undertaken by the very communities where they take place.

How it works is pretty awful. The condemned are usually buried in the earth. For men usually to the waist – for women to the chest – although in some cases people can even be buried up to the neck. Stones of specific sizes are chosen to wound and maim, rather than immediately kill, which prolongs the suffering of the condemned by a lot before they’re eventually put out of their misery.

At least that’s how it works in the Iranian legal code. Probably the most well-known modern case in Iran is that of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, who was convicted of adultery and conspiracy of killing her husband. She was sentenced to be stoned back in 2006, although international pressure led to her sentence being commuted, and she was eventually released in 2014.

The parts of Yemen that the Houthis control have seen some more recent concrete examples though. In February of just 2024, Amnesty International reported that a Houthi-run criminal court in Dhamar sentenced nine people to death, with seven sentenced to be executed by stoning – the other two were to be crucified. Although depending on the legal interpretation that might just mean being sentenced to death. Given that we couldn’t find any further evidence of crucifixion happening in the modern day and this legally murky wording we didn’t want to do a whole section on it, but it did seem worth mentioning. Because if that was the “cross and nails” kind of crucifixion… then dude what the fuck.

Anyway, the seven who were sentenced to stoning were reported to have been convicted of so-called “immoral acts” including homosexuality. Amnesty International’s fuller report also shed light on another case in February of 2024, when a different Houthi-run court in the city of Ibb handed death sentences to 13 students and flogging to another three on the charges of “spreading homosexuality.” At this stage it’s unclear whether these cases have gone through and been successfully carried out or not. Yemen is an ever-evolving landscape of chaos so sometimes information like this just gets lost in all of the death and destruction.

Afghanistan’s Taliban government has also threatened to bring back stoning – usually for women who commit adultery – and even announced it would do so back in 2024. 2024 was the year for stoning it seems, maybe the Taliban just didn’t want to be “out-evil-ed” by the Houthis. There haven’t been any concrete reported cases in Afghanistan that we could reliably nail down of stoning being carried out, but nobody has ever praised the Taliban for their restraint in such matters, and they’re not the biggest fans of journalists. It certainly could be happening there.

The worst of the worst of stoning probably comes from Somalia, in particular that of the Al-Shabab terror network who operate in the region. They are privy to a few of the barbaric practices we’ve mentioned today including rare sentences for amputation as well as flogging, but the stoning seems to be their unique signature. The most infamous case amongst the several that exist in Al-Shabab’s history is the one of Aisha Ibrahim Duhulow.

Back in 2008, she was initially reported as an adult who had committed adultery, but the truth was much worse. She was a minor, who had tried to report an assault she had experienced. She was stoned to death anyway.

In 2014 one woman was stoned in Somalia who was buried all the way up to the neck, and in 2017 mother of eight children Habiba Ali Isaq was stoned too, also reportedly for the crime of adultery. Of course, the people themselves have a hand in such “justice” being the very ones to throw the stones that end up killing their member of the community. This strengthens the fear around collective mob rule when it comes to what various Islamists describe as immoral practices.

Despite there often being evidentiary hurdles to get through to prove something like adultery, Al-Shabab and other fundamentalist groups manage to find a way to ensure that people face the stones regardless.

Does It Actually Work?

So that was a quick foray into some of the most backwards, gruesome, and medieval punishments that are actually carried out by countries in the modern day. But there’s one question that arises from all of this, all the blood and guts and trauma…

Does it work?

Now, that might sound like a stupid question. Most of us would try and behave ourselves for the fear of being stoned to death, having our fingers amputated, or being beaten in the public square. But there’s actually evidence – or rather a lack of evidence – to suggest that such brutal corporal punishments are uniquely effective at deterring serious offences. It may have some small effect but not one that is dramatic or even measurable compared to the other factors that contribute to lower rates of criminal behaviour.

According to the US National Institute of Justice, the case is really quite clear. Across all the literature they state that:

”… increasing the severity of punishment does little to deter crime.”

But how can that be? Are people really just risking life and limb for such comparatively minor offences?

Sort of, let’s break it down. Depending on the country, province, legal system, bylaws and more, not everyone is perfectly up to date on the laws that they actually live by from day-to-day. Do you know the specific sentences for certain crimes in your area? You might, but probably not all of them.

Some people might not even realise what they’re doing is a crime – such as standing with someone of the opposite sex that isn’t a family member. Never underestimate a person’s inability to understand even the most basic of context clues, and in the wrong circumstance that can cost life and limb. But there’s a few pieces of evidence we can look at to recognise if these kinds of criminal procedures really work.

Firstly, even the countries that we’ve mentioned today are awash with repeat offenders who have been caught multiple times committing the same crimes. So, it’s not like everyone just doesn’t know any better, in some cases they have already gone through the exact punishment once and then made the same decisions to take the risks necessary to do it again. If such violent actions were capable of truly deterring these cases the reoffending rate for those crimes would be near zero, but it’s not.

What’s more is that countries who do reserve the right to carry out such punishments often don’t have uniquely low crime compared to their peers. For every nation that has low crime that engages in corporal punishment, there’s another country without it that has an equivalent or lower crime rate.

Take Singapore for example. Singapore is known as one of the strictest societies in the entire world, this is the place that will arrest you over chewing gum or someone seeing you naked in your own home after all. And yet for all of that brutality and pain their crime rate is not that different to Japan, which has no corporal punishment in the same way. Some might point to the caning of scammers, see that scamming numbers in the country have been heavily reduced, and come to the conclusion that the threat of the lash is what did it, but that’s not quite true.

Because in 2025, by the time that the announcement was made over not sparing scammers the rod, Singapore’s scams and cybercrime cases were already down by almost a quarter year over year. 14,000 fewer cases were recorded in 2025, and 200 million Singaporean dollars were saved in the same period. That can’t have been from the threat of physical punishment because the law hadn’t even been changed yet. I’d wager that Singapore’s crime stats in this area are unlikely to have fallen by another 25% just with the addition of a few beatings thrown in for good measure.

The Singaporean government themselves put their reduction in scams down to anti-scam strategies, public education, platform measures, enforcement, asset recovery and victim interventions – not caning. Both visible policing and the perceived chance of getting caught are much greater deterrents than corporal punishment has historically been. After all, a punishment can’t deter someone who doesn’t expect to be caught for the crime they’re committing.

Why would someone who assumes everything will be fine have any doubt in their minds about seeing such actions through? Why are there still scammers in Singapore? Because they feel they can get away with it.

That’s not to say there is no deterrence at all from such punishments, it just moves the needle far less than other factors might for the individual. So, it’s likely part of the picture, and some might even argue that culturally certain punishments deserve to retain a place – even symbolically – in these countries’ judicial systems. But it’s hardly what appears to stop people from committing their associated crimes, because after all, it doesn’t.

And to be honest knowing that, really leaves a person questioning what such punishments are really even for. Of course it’s for religious reasons for many, in the faith of upholding the laws of their specific teachings, but if it doesn’t bring crime down is there really any point other than bloodshed for bloodshed’s sake?

Perhaps then it is more about getting people to live in fear of the state through what it has the power to do to another person, helping bring more people in line with the kind of society that these governments are trying to build. But I’d wager that over time this kind of strategy only breeds more resentment than control. That leaves us with an uneasy feeling, that the whole thing is more like revenge for daring to defy the state and the holy laws on which it was founded, rather than being about justice for crimes committed and having wrongs righted.

So let this be a cautionary tale. When you travel you should always look up the rules of the places that you’re going to and respect them. Because if you don’t, you could be the one buried up to your neck and facing down an angry mob holding stones.

Key Takeaways

• Some countries still use medieval physical punishments like caning and flogging.
• Caning is common in Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia’s Aceh region for various crimes.
• Iran practices extreme punishments, including amputation and blinding, for offenses like theft.
• Stoning is used in Iran, Yemen, Afghanistan, and Somalia for moral offenses, often carried out by communities.
• Evidence suggests that severe physical punishments do not significantly deter crime.

Frequently Asked Questions

What countries still use caning as a form of punishment?

Singapore, Malaysia, and the Aceh region of Indonesia are notable for using caning as a judicial punishment.

What is the maximum number of strokes a person can receive in Singapore for caning?

The maximum number of strokes a person can receive in Singapore for caning is 24.

What types of crimes can result in caning in Singapore?

Crimes such as vandalism, violent crimes like armed robbery, and scams can result in caning in Singapore.

How does Malaysia’s use of caning differ from Singapore’s?

Malaysia has both judicial canings and religious canings. Judicial canings are similar to Singapore’s, while religious canings are often carried out in public and are designed to cause social stigma and shame.

What is the significance of flogging in Afghanistan?

Flogging in Afghanistan is often carried out by the Taliban’s religious courts and is used for crimes like theft, drug and alcohol-related offenses, and moral offenses. It is often chaotic and lacks legal representation for the accused.

What is the practice of qisas in Iran?

Qisas in Iran is a form of retribution in kind, where the punishment is broadly equal to the crime committed. It allows victims or their families to choose the punishment, which can include blinding or other bodily injuries.

What is the most infamous case of stoning in Somalia?

The most infamous case of stoning in Somalia is that of Aisha Ibrahim Duhulow, who was stoned to death in 2008 after trying to report an assault.

Does corporal punishment effectively deter crime?

According to the US National Institute of Justice, increasing the severity of punishment does little to deter crime. Countries with corporal punishment do not necessarily have lower crime rates compared to their peers.

What is the significance of caning in Aceh, Indonesia?

In Aceh, Indonesia, caning is used for a wide range of moral offenses and is carried out in public as a form of moral theater. It is used frequently despite not being common in the rest of Indonesia.

What is the practice of amputation in Iran?

In Iran, amputation is used as a punishment for theft, where four fingers are chopped off without anesthesia. This practice has been carried out recently, though it is rare.

Sources

• Original Into the Shadows video: Countries That Still Use Physical Punishments
• Hero image source by Si Gam / openverse, by-sa.

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