Anyone who is caught engaging in sexual acts with someone of the same gender — as well as convicted of the acts of adultery and rape — in Brunei may be punished by being stoned to death when a provision in the penal code of the tiny country becomes effective as of Wednesday, April 3, 2019.
Same Sex Acts Punishable by Death in Brunei Effective as of April 3, 2019
In addition, anyone convicted of robbery may be sentenced to amputation — and children are reportedly not exempt from the provision, which is the implementation of the third phase of the Syariah Penal Code in Brunei.
“Brunei must immediately halt its plans to implement these vicious punishments, and revise its Penal Code in compliance with its human rights obligations. The international community must urgently condemn Brunei’s move to put these cruel penalties into practice”, according to this article written by Rachel Chhoa-Howard, who is the Brunei Researcher at Amnesty International. “To legalize such cruel and inhuman penalties is appalling of itself. Some of the potential ‘offences’ should not even be deemed crimes at all, including consensual sex between adults of the same gender. These abusive provisions received widespread condemnation when plans were first discussed five years ago.”
Ironically officially known as the Nation of Brunei, the Abode of Peace, this country of greater than 425,000 people is located on the northern part of the island of Borneo and is divided into two parts — both of which are surrounded by the eastern part of Malaysia and the South China Sea.
People have been calling on a boycott of traveling to Brunei and any hotel and resort properties owned by Hassanal Bolkiah, who is the current sultan and and Yang di-
I commend my friend, #GeorgeClooney, for taking a stand against the anti-gay discrimination and bigotry taking place in the nation of #Brunei – a place where gay people are brutalized, or worse – by boycotting the Sultan’s hotels.https://t.co/8ymurW7hqm
— Elton John (@eltonofficial) March 30, 2019
“The new laws under Common Law and the Sharia Criminal Code have been on the books since 2014. They will apply to all people in Brunei, regardless of nationality or religion”, according to this article written by Martin J Cowling of Wild About Travel. “Brunei has drawn widespread criticism for the implementation of these punitive laws. Politicians globally have attacked the plans and raised concerns with Brunei, a tiny nation which abuts Malaysia. The country is ruled by Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah who is both King and Prime Minister. There are no democratic elections conducted there. They are a member of the Commonwealth of Nations.”
Summary
I may be the least likely person to engage in sexual acts with other men; but in no way do I consider homosexuality a crime. What a person does behind a bedroom door is his or her business…
…and although I believe that discretion should be exercised in general, I do not believe that people who publicly engage in acts of sexuality should be stoned to death.
Hassanal Bolkiah may not agree with homosexuality, and that is his right — but as a world leader, he is expected to set an example by which others follow…
…and regardless of how much power he may possess, he has no right in infringe upon the basic human rights of anyone else — period.
Laws are necessary to either punish people who are guilty of committing a crime — or to deter crime from occurring in the first place — but the punishment must fit the crime. Amputation of a person convicted of robbery is rather extreme, in my opinion.
In any event, I have no plans to visit Brunei or patronize any hotel or resort properties which are owned by Hassanal Bolkiah, who is definitely not a Sultan of Swing.
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