After being arrested at a punk rock concert in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, enthusiasts were forced to have their heads shaved, “cleanse” themselves in a lake, change their clothes and pray – because being a punk rocker in parts of Indonesia soils the Islamic image they want to uphold.

Military police stormed a rock concert on Saturday, scattering the crowd and arresting 65 people, 59 men and six women, for being punk rockers.

The punks had their dog-collar necklaces and body piercings removed before being stripped of their “disgusting” clothes, “cleansed” in a lake and being handed a toothbrush and told to “use it!”

Local police chief Iskandar Hasan:

We’re not torturing anyone. We’re not violating human rights. We’re just trying to put them back on the right moral path.

The rockers have received 10 days of rehab, where they will learn military-style discipline, take religious classes, including Quran recitation, before they’ll be allowed to go home.

“Sorry… We don’t have any number four’s”

“When I count to three, everybody dunk your heads”

“Repeat after me: I will not listen to Against Me!”

Twenty-year-old, Fauzan, was most upset:

Why? Why my hair?! We didn’t hurt anyone. This is how we’ve chosen to express ourselves. Why are they treating us like criminals?

The cleansing has been described as the latest effort by authorities to promote strict moral values in Aceh, which is the only Indonesian province to have imposed such stringent Islamic laws.

[Source: WashingtonPost]