The sultanate of Brunei is set to enact laws that will punish adultery and gay sex with death by stoning, according to an announcement by the country's attorney general.
The attorney general made the announcement in December 2018, but it has received little international notice until now; the laws will take effect on April 3.
Homosexuality is already illegal in Brunei, and those in violation of the penal code can receive a punishment of up to 10 years in prison.
At the time of a 2013 announcement criminalizing homosexuality, the government website quoted Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah as saying:
"His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam, in the [command], asserted that in carrying out the Laws of Allah, the nation does not expect other people to accept and agree with it, but that it would suffice if they just respect the nation in the same way that it also respects them."
The new laws "allow for penalties including whipping and stoning," according to a report from The New York Times, and "also introduce amputation of hands or feet as a punishment for robbery."
A person can be convicted by of adultery or having gay sex only if there are multiple Muslim witnesses. The law applies to Muslims and non-Muslims alike.
The announcement has been met with an outcry from human rights groups.
In a statement, Rachel Chhoa-Howard, a researcher for Amnesty International, said:
"Brunei's Penal Code is a deeply flawed piece of legislation containing a range of provisions that violate human rights. As well as imposing cruel, inhuman and degrading punishments, it blatantly restricts the rights to freedom of expression, religion and belief, and codifies discrimination against women and girls.
To legalize such cruel and inhuman penalties is appalling of itself. Some of the potential 'offenses' should not even be deemed crimes at all, including consensual sex between adults of the same gender."
Others have taken to social media to condemn the new legislation.
New laws in Brunei will punish adultery and gay sex with death by stoning. This abhorrent, inhuman and medieval pie… https://t.co/4RquPJ5VwG— Richard Branson (@Richard Branson)1553787012.0
#Brunei is deciding that if you are homosexual you deserve to DIE. That is absolutely disgusting, barbaric, and goe… https://t.co/WzxZjxVUyw— nevaeh (@nevaeh)1553807295.0
As #Brunei introduces vile, repressive legislation including stoning and amputation for gay people (with even under… https://t.co/xfzCDYgJDc— JOHN NICOLSON (@JOHN NICOLSON)1553780267.0
This is a human rights atrocity and anyone involved in seeing this law implemented should face the same punishments… https://t.co/uudLIsIJLx— Speakeasy Gavagan (@Speakeasy Gavagan)1553777391.0
No one should face the death penalty because of who they love. Brunei’s decision is barbaric and the UK stands with… https://t.co/4FX253q96w— Penny Mordaunt MP (@Penny Mordaunt MP)1553774546.0
This new law violates the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It should be widely condemned. @un https://t.co/pF2yuvObZy— Richard Grenell (@Richard Grenell)1553772525.0
Actor and advocate George Clooney has responded to the news by calling for a boycott of Brunei's hotels. Brunei owns the following hotels around the world:
- The Dorchester, London
- 45 Park Lane, London
- Coworth Park, UK
- The Beverly Hills Hotel, Beverly Hills
- Hotel Bel-Air, Los Angeles
- Le Meurice, Paris
- Hotel Plaza Athenee, Paris
- Hotel Eden, Rome
- Hotel Principe di Savoia, Milan
In an op-ed for Deadline, Clooney says that in "the onslaught of news where we see the world backsliding into authoritarianism this stands alone," and makes the case for a boycott:
A couple of years ago two of those hotels in Los Angeles, The Bel-Air and The Beverly Hills Hotel were boycotted by many of us for Brunei's treatment of the gay community. It was effective to a point. We cancelled a big fundraiser for the Motion Picture Retirement Home that we'd hosted at the Beverly Hills Hotel for years. Lots of individuals and companies did the same. But like all good intentions when the white heat of outrage moves on to the hundred other reasons to be outraged, the focus dies down and slowly these hotels get back to the business of business. And the Brunei Investment Agency counts on that. They own nine of the most exclusive hotels in the world. Full disclosure: I've stayed at many of them, a couple of them recently, because I hadn't done my homework and didn't know who owned them.
They're nice hotels. The people who work there are kind and helpful and have no part in the ownership of these properties. But let's be clear, every single time we stay at or take meetings at or dine at any of these nine hotels we are putting money directly into the pockets of men who choose to stone and whip to death their own citizens for being gay or accused of adultery. Brunei is a Monarchy and certainly any boycott would have little effect on changing these laws. But are we really going to help pay for these human rights violations? Are we really going to help fund the murder of innocent citizens? I've learned over years of dealing with murderous regimes that you can't shame them. But you can shame the banks, the financiers and the institutions that do business with them and choose to look the other way.
The Sultan of Brunei is one of the richest men in the world, with a fortune valued at $20 billion. He is the world's longest-reigning current monarch after Queen Elizabeth II, having held the throne since 1967, following the abdication of his father.
Could an international boycott be the answer? More to come as this story develops.
Try not to follow the bad advice given here, because you don't want to get the results that these guys did.
U/Duckerton375 asked: What's the worst advice someone ever gave you, but you still followed?
The workplace can bring a cornucopia of terrible advice. Don’t follow these unless you want to get fired.
​Bad jobs are usually not worth it.
Stick with a job no matter how bad it is. I stayed with a terrible job working retail, dealing with horrible customers and sexual harassment. I was told I wouldn't find anything better.
"No, no, you misunderstand. I said you wouldn't find anything better at making you feel like complete garbage."
This gets really creepy really fast.
frustrated workplace GIFGiphy"After you put in a job application, you need to call them at least once a day every day until they hire you."
Note: this did not get me hired. It got me called out by the HR person I was calling and forbidden to ever contact their facility again.
I work for a law firm that employees over 1500 people in the home office alone. Once I received a call from the building security saying, "Insert Name is here to speak with the owner." Well we are run by a committee so that's odd. Found out they just applied for a job and wanted to talk directly to the person that would potentially hire them. Told him the firm will contact them to schedule an interview. They refused to leave without "talking to the owner." Had security escort them out of the building.
​This is absolutely not true.
"Sleep is for people who do not want success" great words from my uncle, it almost killed me.
Now I may be oversleeping.
​Interpersonal relationships are also a big breeding ground for terrible advice. Don’t listen to any of these.
Heartbreaking.
My father always tought me and my brother that "having friends is bad and in the end they will never be there for you" so everytime I told my father about my friends he would get kinda mad and give me the advice to stop talking to them.
Now I am afraid of people and have several trust issues, thanks dad.
​This won’t end well.
A Christmas Story GIF by filmeditorGiphyIn the fifth grade my teacher was talking about bullying, then she said "if anyone tries to bully you just agree with them." So the next time I got bullied I agreed with the bully and they bullied me more.
Dude one time I saw an anti bullying video that told the victims to just BE NICE TO THE BULLY. Like the bully was hurling insults and the victim was smiling and complimenting him. My first thought was about how much I hated the mere thought that this would work. My second thought was of how the people who came up with that method had clearly never been bullied.
​Oof.
When I met my now wife at the age of 19, one of my coworkers said that it's very important to start at the bottom with presents and work your way up, she still has the socks I gave her on our first anniversary on the wall over our bed as a reminder...
I'm still trying to teach my boyfriend about good presents and bad presents. Biscuits from the supermarket = bad present. Cheap unbranded laptop battery from China as my only present = bad present (and only lasted 2 months). Anything off my 7-page wishlist = good present. It's literally a list of things I want to receive as presents.
​Can tell you from experience that this is a bad idea.
Had a falling out with some friends. My husband recommended I reach out to an old friend who ghosted me suddenly in a manner that induced some pretty severe abandonment trauma. Went for it anyways because "it's been so long, surely they changed". Am now experiencing the same things as last time.
When you follow bad advice, it can lead to mistakes that you just can’t come back from.​
Buying a house is tricky.
for sale dancing GIF by Lisa VertudachesGiphy"Buy a home now before the prices go up!" -my FIL in 2006.
We bought in 2007 and paid $259,500 for our 1,300 sq ft house (we really couldn't afford it and had an 80/20 so we had 8% interest for one loan and 6% on the other) and in 2008 it was worth $97,000 so refinancing wasn't even an option. We watched all of our neighbors walk away or get foreclosed on but we kept paying our bills and as of this very moment our house is worth $462,000. I'm so happy we stuck it out, we both worked our @sses off and the house will be paid off in 2 years.
It worked out for us, it's a horrible idea. Especially since 1300 sq ft houses are $460+k
My heartbreaks for future generations, I honestly don't know how people are going to afford housing in the future.
It’s there for a reason.
"Never apply for any government assistance."
Cue years of suffering trying to work full-time with a painful disability. Quit a particularly terrible job, and wanted to apply for food aid until I could find another gig; a friend with lots of DHS experience recommended I apply for Social Security "just to get in the system." Turns out my disability was bad enough to get accepted the first time, which I wasn't expecting. Really could've used that support, oh, the 30+ previous years of my life.
Credit is important to have.
I was told to not get a credit card until after college. I was super fortunate to have my college paid for so I had no loans, car paid in cash, no credit card or anything to start building credit. Found myself out in the world at 22 years old with a credit score of 0.
So while a lot of this bad advice came from trusted people, oftentimes they were too misinformed to give that advice in the first place. Don't trust the word of one person--do your research, and make decisions for yourself.
It'll be way better in the long run