Brunei is enacting strict new Islamic laws that say gay sex and adultery is punishable by stoning to death.
The move comes despite intense opposition from the international community, including the UN,... that continues to urge the Southeast Asian nation not to apply the controversial penalty.
Lee Seung-jae reports.
Despite heavy opposition from the international community,... including celebrities like George Clooney and Elton John,... Brunei is enacting strict new Islamic laws that make gay sex and adultery punishable by stoning to death.
The new penal code was implemented by the Sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah, who also acts as the country's prime minister.
Under stages two and three of the latest penal code,... sex between two men and adultery will carry a punishment of stoning to death,... while sex between two women is punishable with 100 lashes.
The UN's human rights body is calling the enactment 'a real setback',... and a move that seriously breaches international human rights law.
“And the High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet urged today the Government of Brunei to stop entering into force of a new penal code which will enshrine legislations cruel and inhumane punishment in breach of international human rights law, including death by stoning.”
"If this law is actually enforced, it will be a real setback for the human rights of the people of Brunei and we are talking about a country which has maintained a moratorium on the death penalties since 1957."
In 2014,... Brunei became the first Southeast Asian nation to introduce Sharia law at a national level.
Along with the latest law on gay sex and adultery,... the law also introduces other harsh penalties... such as amputation of limbs for stealing and imprisonment for dressing as a different gender.
Lee Seung-jae, Arirang News.
