Brunei Darussalam is a monarchy officially known as the Nation of Brunei, known as the Nation of Peace. Brunei is a small state in South- East Asia on the north-west cost of the island of Borneo, in the Indonesia Archipelago.
Strict new laws were announced by the Sultan of Brunei, that will punish adultery and homosexual sex with death. Anyone found guilty of the offences will be stoned to death, according to a new penal code based on Sharia law, an Islamic legal system that outlines strict corporal punishments. According to the government website, The Sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah does not expect other people to accept and agree he just wants the nation to be respected. The Country has no plans to halt the law. Burnie government has not responded to CNN’s inquiries.
The tiny oil-rich kingdom of just over 450,000 people has grown conservative in recent years, including the ban of alcohol.
Human rights groups were quick to express horror at the penal code based on Sharia law, which will also order amputation as a punishment for theft. These cruel penalties come into practice on April 3, 2019.
On March 28, George Clooney called for a boycott of the nine hotels linked to Brunei- three of which are in the UK, two in the US, two in France and two in Italy.
They include the Beverly Hills Hotel and the Bel-Air in Los Angeles, the Dorchester in London and Le Meurice in Paris.
Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz called the decision “cruel and inhumane.”
The UK’s Secretary of State for International Development Penny Mordaunt said “No one should face the death penalty because of who they love. Brunei’s decision is barbaric, and the UK stands with the LGBT + community and those who defend their rights. LGBT + rights are human rights.
Former Vice President Joe Biden commented on the new law saying it was “appalling and immoral.”
“Every single person on earth is entitled to be treated with dignity and to live without fear,” “There is no excuse—not culture, not tradition—for this kind of hate and inhumanity.”
Celebrities
Elton John
The British music legend praised Clooney’s stance on Twitter, adding that he and his husband David Furnish” have long refused to stay in these hotels and will continue to do so.”
Richard Branson
“This abhorrent, inhuman and medieval piece of legislation has no place in the 21st century”
Jammie Lee Curtis
“I stand with George Clooney, a good man doing the right thing, fighting an unjust and barbaric law.”
https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/30/asia/brunei-lgbt-death-penalty-intl/index.html
https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/29/asia/george-clooney-brunei-lgbt-intl/index.html
http://thecommonwealth.org/our-member-countries/brunei-darussalam