Gay sex will be punishable by stoning to death and thieves will be amputated under 'vicious' new Sharia laws brought in by Brunei

  • Brunei already has Sharia law with homosexuality punishable with ten years' jail
  • Under new laws from next week gay people could be whipped or stoned to death
  • Muslims found guilty of adultery, sodomy and rape could also be put to death
  • Amnesty branded laws 'vicious' and called for international pressure on BruneiBy CHRIS 
  • CHRIS DYER FOR MAILONLINE and REUTERS and AP
    PUBLISHED: 04:56 EDT, 27 March 2019 | UPDATED: 09:00 EDT, 27 March 2019 


    Brunei could start whipping or stoning gay people to death next week when strict new laws are introduced, human rights groups have warned.  
    The tiny oil-rich nation already implements Sharia laws, with homosexuality punishable with up to ten years in prison.
    But from the start of next month the government plans to amend the penal code to mean LGBT people could be stoned to death and thieves could have limbs amputated. 
    Amnesty International today slammed the plans, describing the Islamic criminal laws for gay sex and theft as 'vicious'.
    Brunei was the first East Asian country to introduce Islamic criminal law in 2014 when it announced the first of three stages of legal changes that included fines or jail for offences like pregnancy outside marriage or failing to pray on Friday.
    Previously, homosexuality was illegal in Brunei and punishable by up to ten years imprisonment. But the changes would allow whipping and stoning to death for Muslims found guilty of adultery, sodomy and rape, said human rights groups.
    The new penalty for theft is amputation of the right hand for a first offence, and the left foot for a second offence. 
    The new penalties, which also apply to children, are in new sections under Brunei's Sharia Penal Code and will come into effect April 3, Amnesty said in a statement. 

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