Amnesty urges Brunei to halt adoption of ‘vicious’ punishments News
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Amnesty urges Brunei to halt adoption of ‘vicious’ punishments

Amnesty International on Wednesday called on Brunei to halt plans to introduce “vicious” new punishments such as death by stoning for same-sex acts and amputation for robbery, set to take effect next week.

Amnesty has previously expressed concerns over changes to the Penal Code when they were proposed in 2014 and is currently calling on the international community to condemn Brunei’s move to put these cruel penalties into practice.

Brunei must immediately halt its plans to implement these vicious punishments and revise its Penal Code in compliance with its human rights obligations. … Some of the potential “offenses” should not even be deemed crimes at all, including consensual sex between adults of the same gender.

Brunei has signed but not yet ratified the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. Under international human rights law, corporal punishment, such as stoning, amputation or whipping, “constitutes torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment, which is prohibited in all circumstances.”

Such punishments are included in the newly-implemented sections of the Brunei Darussalam Syariah Penal Code and will come into force on April 3, 2019.

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