Brunei will not impose the death penalty on those convicted of having gay sex, in an apparent bid to temper international condemnation following its roll out of strict new Islamic laws last month.
In a televised speech on Sunday, the country's ruler, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, said he would extend a moratorium on capital punishment and ratify the United Nations Convention Against Torture.The announcement follows a global backlash to the country's announcement in April that it would impose draconian new punishments, including death by stoning, for those convicted of gay sex, adultery and rape.
""However, we believe that once these have been cleared, the merit of the law will be evident," he said.The sultan announced the kingdom's long-term moratorium on the death penalty would also extend to the new penal code, although he didn't elaborate whether this was a new decision."For more than two decades, we have practiced a de facto moratorium on the execution of death penalty for cases under the common law.
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