Brunei to make anal sex punishable by death by stoning
By Josh Haggis
Brunei is set to make anal sex an offence that carries the death penalty.
The Southeast Asian state, which has a population of around 400,000, has revised its penal code to make sodomy an offence that can be punished with death by stoning.
Numerous other offences – rape, adultery, extramarital sexual relations for Muslims, insulting any verses of the Quran and Hadith, blasphemy, being non-Muslim and murder – will also be made punishable by death by stoning.
The revised penal code is set to go into effect on April 22. According to sources quoted by The Huffington Post, however, Brunei hasn’t actually carried out any executions since 1957.
Rupert Colville, spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, responded to Brunei’s new laws, last week (April 11), saying: “Application of the death penalty for such a broad range of offences contravenes international law. We urge the Government to delay the entry into force of the revised penal code and to conduct a comprehensive review ensuring its compliance with international human rights standards.”
He continued: “Under international law, stoning people to death constitutes torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and is thus clearly prohibited.”
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