After announcing they would implement Shariah Law beginning in April, the kingdom of Brunei said they will no longer implement the death penalty as punishment for gay sex after international backlash condemned the new policy.
In April, the southeast Asian monarchy began implementing an updated penal code consistent with Shariah Law. The new code stated any individual found guilty of engaging in gay sex or adultery would be punished with death by stoning.
The international community criticized Brunei for being overly harsh when the new laws were announced. Many high-profile celebrities including George Clooney and Elton John began boycotting hotels around the world owned by Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah and his family.
Additionally, some international companies have banned staff from staying at the sultan’s hotels, and travel agencies stopped promoting them as tourist destinations.
After receiving international criticism, Bolkiah extended a moratorium on the new punishments.
“For more than two decades we have practiced a de facto moratorium on the execution of death penalty for cases under the common law,” the sultan said in a televised statement on May 5. “This will also be applied to cases under the Syariah Penal Code Order.”
“Both common law and the Syariah Law aim to ensure peace and harmony of the country,” Bolkiah continued. “They are also crucial in protecting the morality and decency of the public as well as respecting the privacy of individuals.”
Despite the government revoking the death penalty, LGBTQ community members still face potential punishment in Brunei. Founder of The Brunei Project, a human rights organization aims to improve living conditions in the kingdom, Matthew Woolfe said LGBTQ members still face fines, whipping or jail time.
“There is nothing stopping the Brunei Government from lifting the moratorium at any time,” Woolfe told CNN. This remains true until the UN Convention is signed and ratified by Brunei.
“If [the government doesn’t] do anything to show that they are supporting the LGBT community, nothing will change,” a gay man living in Brunei told CNN, asking to remain unnamed. “Religion still has a major effect toward homophobia.”
When announcing the moratorium on the death penalty, the Bolkiah said the country would also sign the UN Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. The UN Convention bars all forms of corporal punishment in all circumstances but despite Bolkiah’s promise, The Independent reports the document has yet to be ratified by Brunei.
“The Sultan’s speech shows the international campaign on Brunei is working, and now more pressure is needed,” Human Rights Watch’s Deputy Asia Director Phil Robertson tweeted on May 5 in support of the movement against Brunei. “The entire Sharia criminal law should be scrapped because it’s a rights abusing monstrosity reminiscent of a medieval yesteryear that has no place in the modern age.”
