Brunei Wants to Punish Gay Sex and Adultery with Death by Stoning

Brunei wants to punish gay sex and adultery with death by stoning.

It seems to be a history of the Middle Ages, but it is in 2019. Authorities in the tiny Asian country of Brunei intend to put into effect, as soon as next week, a law that punishes those who commit adultery or have sex with same-sex people with death by stoning—a move that has irked human rights activists across the world.

The punishment first appeared in the penal code that the Asian country presented in 2014 based on Sharia, the Islamic law. The implementation of the set of new rules, however, ended up being suspended that year amid criticism from both local and international human rights organizations.

According to the human rights international organization, Amnesty International, the government intends to put the law into effect next Wednesday, April 3, 2019. The legal changes were published in a discreet notice on the country's Attorney General's website, the organization said.

The laws are only valid for Muslims and include children, according to Amnesty International. Homosexuality, which is already a crime in Brunei, will now be subject to the death penalty.

Amputations of Members in Theft Cases

The new penal code also provides amputations of members' body parts in cases of theft. According to the rules, condemned thieves for the first time will have their right hand amputated and, in case of recurrence, their left foot.

A spokesman for the Brunei Ministry of Religious Affairs said on Wednesday that the country's Sultan and Prime Minister, Hassanal Bolkiah, is set to make an announcement on April 3rd about the new Sharia laws.

"It's only after this event that we shall know the date of the implementation of the new laws," said the spokesman in an interview with journalists. "In terms of readiness, we are currently prepared to impose amputation for theft. That is all."

In a statement, Amnesty International implored the country to "immediately stop" the implementation of the new barbaric punishments and to revise its penal code in line with the country's human rights obligations.

"Legalizing these cruel and inhuman sentences is a terrible thing," said Rachel Chhoa-Howard, a researcher with the organization in Brunei. "Some of the possible 'offenses' should not even be considered crimes, including consensual sex between adults of the same sex."

The activist has also called on the "international community to urgently condemn the Brunei movement to put these cruel penalties into practice."

Global Boycott

Phil Robertson of Human Rights Watch warned that the law's entry into force would "quickly lead the country to the status of human rights pariah in the eyes of foreign investors, tourists, and international agencies."

"If this foolish plan moves forward, there will be every reason to believe that the global boycott movement in Brunei will resume," he added. According to him, Brunei is about to become the only Southeast Asian country to punish gay sex with death.

The Sultan of Brunei instituted the Sharia Penal Code in 2014 to bolster Islam's influence in the tiny oil-rich monarchy, long known for conservative policies such as banning the public sale of alcoholic beverages. The first stage of the bill included fines or imprisonment for offenses such as out-of-wedlock pregnancies or failure to pray on Fridays.

There has been no significant public opposition to the law in Brunei where Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah has governed since the 1960s as the head of state with full executive authority. Criticism of the population for the nation's government policies is very rare, while it is common for human rights activists to be banned from the country thanks to the Sultan's iron fist leadership style and evident dictatorship tendencies.