An Italian aid worker has been arrested in Indonesia's staunchly Muslim province of Aceh and may face a caning over sex charges and drug possession, police said Tuesday.
Aceh has been gradually implementing Islamic or sharia law, with canings meted out as punishment for the consumption and sale of alcohol and drugs, gambling and illicit relations between men and women.
Aceh police spokesman Jodi Heriyadi told AFP that the aid worker, whom he only identified as Giuseppe, was arrested about 10 days ago in Bireuen, located some 180 kilometres (112 miles) southeast of the capital Banda Aceh.
The detainee "was found in close proximity in private with a woman, his interpreter," Heriyadi said, adding that he was also allegedly found in possession of marijuana.
The Italian was being questioned at the provincial police headquarters in Banda Aceh, he said.
Sharia is applicable to both locals and foreigners in Aceh, which was ravaged by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and is rebuilding with the help of many foreign aid organisations.
