Brunei abandons death penalty for gay sex after international backlash
The Sultan of Brunei sparked anger by making it punishable with death by stoning
BRUNEI will not enforce the death penalty for people who have gay sex following worldwide condemnation from celebrites such as Sir Elton John and George Clooney.
The Sultan of Brunei Hassanal Bolkiah, 72, sparked fury when he introduced an interpretation of Sharia law on April which banned sodomy - making it a crime punishable with death by stoning.
Elements of the law had been rolled out in phases in the small South East Asian country since 2014.
Last week the country sent a letter to the European Parliament which called on politicians to show “tolerance and understanding” towards its decision to bring in the controversial punishment.
The UN previously slammed the law calling it “cruel and inhuman”.
But now the Sultan has suggested the law would not be part of the Syariah Penal Code Order (SPCO).
In a speech delivered ahead of Ramadan, he said: “I am aware that there are many questions and misperceptions with regard to the implementation of the SPCO.
“However, we believe that once these have been cleared, the merit of the law will be evident.
“As evident for more than two decades, we have practised a de facto moratorium on the execution of death penalty for cases under the common law.
“This will also be applied to cases under the SPCO which provides a wider scope for remission.”
Brunei was the first East Asian country to introduce Islamic criminal law back in 2014 - previously homosexulality was illegal and could result in ten years of imprisonment.
But the changes would have allowed whipping and stoning to death for those found guilty of sodomy, adultery, and rape.
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Elton John was one of a number of celebrities who backed a boycott of Brunei-owned hotels over the law.
He joined George Clooney in calling for people to avoid nine Brunei-owned hotels.
Elton said on Twitter: “ I commend my friend, George Clooney, for taking a stand against the anti-gay discrimination and bigotry taking place in the nation of Brunei – a place where gay people are brutalised, or worse – by boycotting the sultan’s hotels.”
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