Brunei approved the death penalty against adulterers and homosexuals – ElSol.com.ar – Diario de Mendoza, Argentina

The Sultanate of Brunei, north of the island of Borneo, imposed from this Wednesday severe sanctions based on sharia or Islamic law, such as stoning or mutilation of members, applied to various crimes, such as robbery, homobaduality or adultery.

The reform of the Penal Code, officially announced for the first time Saturday by Sultan Hbadbad Bolkiah, does not appear in any of the media of this small but prosperous nation of Southeast Asia.

The new order includes the stoning for homobadual crimes and adultery; mutilation of the hand or foot in case of theft; capital punishment for blasphemy, defamation of the name of the Prophet Muhammad and apostasy; and flogging for abortion, among others.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, said this week that the implementation of these laws "would imply a serious setback of human rights in Brunei ".

"The new Criminal Code is fundamentally brutal in imposing these archaic methods of punishment on acts that should not be considered crimes," said Phil Robertson, deputy director for Asia at Human Rights Watch.

For his part, the 72-year-old Sultan, famous for his opulent life and several love scandals, argued that The measure will maintain "peace and order" and aims to "educate, respect and protect the legitimate rights of all individuals of all races and faiths".

The sultanate, prosperous thanks to its huge reserves of oil and gas, began to introduce sanctions based on Islamic law in 2014, with a first series of amendments for less severe penalties.

But the successful international campaign of boycott against the commercial cadre under the high patronage of the Sultanate, including a chain of luxury hotels in the United States and Europe, has resulted in the temporary suspension of the introduction of punishments. the most severe and corporal punishment, by the end of 2016.

The US actor George Clooney renewed, in a column published Thursday by the Deadline media, the boycott of Brunei businesses, a call that was later joined by other celebrities, such as the British singer Elton John, the community for gay rights or various political bodies.

Although the current Penal Code provides for the death penalty, Brunei has not carried out any executions since 1957 and the last sentence was issued in 2017 for a narcotics offense.

The new legislation will mainly apply to citizens professing the Muslim religion, who represent 70% of the population of the Sultanate, or about 300,000 indigenous people, although in some cases it will also be used with foreigners or religious believers. Other beliefs, mainly Buddhists. and Christians.