photo credit: AlessandroBiascioli // Shutterstock

In a South China island of Brunei, on Wednesday, a new law will go into effect that will punish adultery and homosexual sex with death by stoning. These new laws are based on a strict islamic legal system, the Sharia penal code. Now only will adultery and anal sex be punishable by a stoning death, but also abortion. For anyone who steals, a limb may be amputated. For lesbian sex, perpetrators will receive 100 lashes with a whip. Anyone who has reached puberty are susceptible to these punishments. Meaning, any child who has gone through puberty will be held accountable for their actions.

Some LGBT citizen have fled the island, while a large portion of the global community is opposed to the law.

The U.S., Austria, New Zealand, Australia and the UK have made statements saying the law “strongly opposes human rights violations and abuses against LGBTI” people. George Clooney has called for a boycott of 9 hotels around the world with ties to the Brunei island. 

“The punishments provided under the new code violate customary international law prohibitions against torture and other ill-treatment, as reflected in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and treaties to which Brunei is party, such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The use of stoning or intentional amputation as a punishment violates the absolute prohibition of all forms of torture, and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment.”

Written by Clarke Jones

Source: CNN & Human Rights Watch