<p class="title rtejustify">Two Malaysian women have been sentenced to caning after they admitted having sex in contravention of strict Islamic laws, an official said Tuesday, sparking outrage from rights groups.</p>.<p class="bodytext rtejustify">Members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community have increasingly faced pressure in the Muslim-majority country in recent years, with officials frequently accused of targeting them.</p>.<p class="bodytext rtejustify">The women, aged 22 and 32, were arrested in April by Islamic enforcement officers after they were found in a car in a public square in northern Terengganu state, one of the most conservative areas of the country.</p>.<p class="bodytext rtejustify">They were brought before an Islamic court on Sunday and admitted to breaking a sharia law that forbids sexual relations between women.</p>.<p class="bodytext rtejustify">They were sentenced to six strokes of the cane each and fined 3,300 ringgit ($800), Mohamad Khasmizan Abdullah, a prosecutor with the Terengganu religious department told AFP.</p>.<p class="bodytext rtejustify">"This is a serious case. The prosecutors urged the court to impose the maximum sentence," Khasmizan said.</p>.<p class="bodytext rtejustify">He said if the sentence was carried out, they would be the first women to be caned in Terengganu for breaking Islamic laws. They are free on bail and their sentence is set to be carried out on August 28, although they have the right to appeal.</p>.<p class="bodytext rtejustify">Caning is conducted out of public view in Malaysia.</p>.<p class="bodytext rtejustify">Malaysia operates a dual-track legal system and Islamic courts can handle religious and family matters, as well as cases such as adultery.</p>.<p class="bodytext rtejustify">Malaysian Muslims, who make up over 60 percent of the country's 32 million inhabitants, have traditionally practised a tolerant brand of Islam but concerns have been growing in recent years that attitudes are becoming more conservative.</p>.<p class="bodytext rtejustify">A statement released by rights groups Justice for Sisters, and endorsed by other campaign groups, criticised the women's sentence as "torture".</p>.<p class="bodytext rtejustify">"Criminalisation of consensual sex between adults is a gross violation of human rights," it said.</p>
<p class="title rtejustify">Two Malaysian women have been sentenced to caning after they admitted having sex in contravention of strict Islamic laws, an official said Tuesday, sparking outrage from rights groups.</p>.<p class="bodytext rtejustify">Members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community have increasingly faced pressure in the Muslim-majority country in recent years, with officials frequently accused of targeting them.</p>.<p class="bodytext rtejustify">The women, aged 22 and 32, were arrested in April by Islamic enforcement officers after they were found in a car in a public square in northern Terengganu state, one of the most conservative areas of the country.</p>.<p class="bodytext rtejustify">They were brought before an Islamic court on Sunday and admitted to breaking a sharia law that forbids sexual relations between women.</p>.<p class="bodytext rtejustify">They were sentenced to six strokes of the cane each and fined 3,300 ringgit ($800), Mohamad Khasmizan Abdullah, a prosecutor with the Terengganu religious department told AFP.</p>.<p class="bodytext rtejustify">"This is a serious case. The prosecutors urged the court to impose the maximum sentence," Khasmizan said.</p>.<p class="bodytext rtejustify">He said if the sentence was carried out, they would be the first women to be caned in Terengganu for breaking Islamic laws. They are free on bail and their sentence is set to be carried out on August 28, although they have the right to appeal.</p>.<p class="bodytext rtejustify">Caning is conducted out of public view in Malaysia.</p>.<p class="bodytext rtejustify">Malaysia operates a dual-track legal system and Islamic courts can handle religious and family matters, as well as cases such as adultery.</p>.<p class="bodytext rtejustify">Malaysian Muslims, who make up over 60 percent of the country's 32 million inhabitants, have traditionally practised a tolerant brand of Islam but concerns have been growing in recent years that attitudes are becoming more conservative.</p>.<p class="bodytext rtejustify">A statement released by rights groups Justice for Sisters, and endorsed by other campaign groups, criticised the women's sentence as "torture".</p>.<p class="bodytext rtejustify">"Criminalisation of consensual sex between adults is a gross violation of human rights," it said.</p>