Brunei introduces death for gay sex, adultery

The south-east Asian kingdom of Brunei will impose death by stoning to punish gay sex and adultery as it implements Islamic law from next week. The country’s new penal code will insist the capital punishment is “witnessed by a group of Muslims” and also prescribe the amputation of a hand and a foot for theft. […]

The south-east Asian kingdom of Brunei will impose death by stoning to punish gay sex and adultery as it implements Islamic law from next week.

The country’s new penal code will insist the capital punishment is “witnessed by a group of Muslims” and also prescribe the amputation of a hand and a foot for theft. The changes come five years after Brunei introduced sharia law, as the sultan Hassanal Bolkiah moved to bolster Islam’s influence in the country in 2014.

Alcohol is banned and there are fines and jail sentences for having children out of wedlock and failing to pray on Fridays.

A National Secular Society spokesperson said the new punishments were “an appalling attack on human rights and a reminder of the importance of separating religion from the law”.

“The British government must exercise the leverage it has in Brunei to urge it to abandon sharia law, as it should promote the separation of religion and lawmaking globally.”

The new punishments will only apply to those considered Muslim, who make up around two-thirds of the country’s population of 450,000.