Brunei brings in stoning to death under anti-LGBT laws

Brunei is introducing a new penal code that makes adultery and gay sex punishable by stoning to death

The nation of Brunei, located in south-east Asia, has introduced strict Islamic laws that make adultery and gay sex punishable by stoning to death, making it the first country in East Asia to have sharia penal code at the national level.

Ruled by Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, the country has also introduced amputation of the hands and feet as punishment for thieves and joins middle eastern states such as Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan in adopting full sharia law.

The Sultan said in a public address: “I want to see Islamic teachings in this country grow stronger,” without mentioning the new laws, according to AFP news agency.

Homosexuality was already outlawed in the country and punishable by up to ten years in prison. Brunei’s small LGBT community is said to have expressed shock and fear at the new ‘medieval ruling‘.

The new punishments have been met with widespread condemnation, with the United Nations branding the laws “cruel and inhumane” and the foreign ministries of Germany, France and Australia have also protested the plan and called on Brunei to abolish the new rulings.

Celebrities George Clooney and Ellen Degeneres are also supporting a boycott of the Dorchester Collection hotel chain, which are operated by the Brunei Investment Agency headed by the Sultan.

Tomorrow, the country of #Brunei will start stoning gay people to death. We need to do something now. Please boycott these hotels owned by the Sultan of Brunei. Raise your voices now. Spread the word. Rise up. pic.twitter.com/24KJsemPGH

— Ellen DeGeneres (@EllenDeGeneres) April 2, 2019

Brunei has retained the death penalty but has not carried out an execution since 1957. The country first adopted sharia law in 2014 but in a duel penal system alongside Common Law. It has since brought it into full force over the last few years, with the final two phases, offences punishable by stoning to death and amputation, now being introduced.

The government announced on its website on Saturday that the new sharia law penal code would be coming into full effect on Wednesday.