The laws make Brunei the first place in East or Southeast Asia to have a sharia penal code at the national level
Brunei's Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah delivers a speech during an event in Bandar Seri Begawan on April 3 2019. Picture: AFP/ BRUNEI OUTBrunei on Wednesday introduced harsh new sharia laws, including death by stoning for adultery and gay sex, despite a storm of global criticism from politicians, celebrities and rights groups.
Rape and robbery are also punishable by death under the code and many of the new laws, such as capital punishment for insulting the Prophet Mohammed, apply to non-Muslims as well as Muslims. "I want to see Islamic teachings in this country grow stronger," he said in the nationally televised speech at a convention centre near the capital Bandar Seri Begawan.
They are particularly upsetting for the country's small lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. Before the new laws, sex between men was already illegal in Brunei and punishable by up to 10 years in jail. "It really takes away my happiness and freedom to express myself, and depresses me so much," he said.
Clooney's call to boycott nine Brunei-owned hotels in Europe and the US last week catapulted the issue into the international headlines. Since then, a series of well-known figures have lined up to add their names to the chorus of condemnation.
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