“I appeal to the government to stop the entry into force of this draconian new penal code,' said the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
The United Nations has joined the growing chorus of international voices condemning Brunei for its decision to implement new laws that would punish the LGBT community and adulterers with the death penalty.
Ruled by an absolute monarch, the wealthy Southeast Asian nation of Brunei plans to implement a severe interpretation of Islamic sharia law. The measures were first announced in 2013, but the country, which has been ruled for 51 years by Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, was slow to implement them due to international backlash. Under the strict laws, adultery, sodomy, robbery, rape and insulting Islam’s Prophet Muhammad would all be punishable by death.
Rachel Chhoa-Howard, a Brunei researcher at Amnesty International, also criticized the country’s decision to implement the harsh laws in an official statement, pointing out that even children could face severe punishments.
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