Despite outcry, Brunei brings in stoning to death for gay sex, adultery

Despite international condemnation, Brunei has enacted new Islamic laws Wednesday, including harsh anti-LGBT measures that make gay sex punishable by stoning to death.

The implementation of the draconian penal code is part of the predominantly Muslim country’s rollout of Sharia law, reports Time Magazine.

According to The Guardian, the laws were scheduled to be introduced on Wednesday in the tiny south-east Asian kingdom ruled by Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah.

The new punishments, which also include amputation of hands and feet for thieves, will make Brunei the first country in east or south-east Asia to have a Sharia penal code at the national level.

Several countries, mostly in the Middle East such as Saudi Arabia, also adhere to Sharia law.

According to the Guardian’s report, Brunei’s small underground LGBT community has expressed shock and dismay over Brunei’s plan to bring in the punishment of death by stoning for adultery and gay sex.

The penal code was formally published in 2013 but the government said the laws would be enacted over a period of several years, with the most controversial delayed after international outcry.

The laws have caused dismay in Brunei’s small, underground LGBT community, which until now had lived in a “pink bubble”, according to an LGBT activist familiar with the country.

In a nation where homosexuality was already outlawed, the delays over the law had created a false sense of security, Ryan Selviro, an LGBT rights activist from the human rights network SOGIE Caucus, who visited Brunei several years ago, told The Guardian.

A sense of fear and a desire to leave the country now pervades LGBT people in Brunei, the Guardian has learned. Several have left already, seeking asylum in countries such as Canada.

The new punishments have also been greeted by shock from abroad, sparking international condemnation from human rights groups and celebrities.

The United Nations labelled the laws “cruel and inhumane” and well-known figures have lined up to add to their names to the chorus of condemnation, including former US vice president Joe Biden and actress Jamie Lee Curtis. George Clooney and pop star Elton John have called for Brunei-owned hotels to be boycotted.

The foreign ministries of Germany, France and Australia have protested the plan and called on Brunei to scrap the laws.

But the sultan shows no sign of backing down, and the Muslim-majority country issued a statement at the weekend insisting that Brunei “enforces its own rule of law”. In a public address on Wednesday, he called for “stronger” Islamic teachings in the country and said that Brunei was “fair and happy”.

He said that he wanted the Muslim call to prayer to ring out in all public places, not just in mosques, to remind people of their Islamic duties.

“Anyone who comes to visit this country will have a sweet experience, and enjoy the safe and harmonious environment,” he said, failing to mention the controversial new laws.

The sultan – who is one of the world’s wealthiest men and lives in a vast, golden-domed palace – announced plans for the penal code in 2013 and the first phase was introduced the following year.

This included less stringent penalties, such as fines or jail terms for offences including indecent behaviour, failure to attend Friday prayers, and out-of-wedlock pregnancies.

Phil Robertson, Asia deputy director for Human Rights Watch, said: “This kind of law doesn’t belong in the 21st century. It’s going to be something that will turn Brunei into a human rights pariah.”