Although the global trend and public support for capital punishment for crimes has declined in the past decades, recently the nation of Brunei in Southeast Asia has reintroduced an inhumane code of laws that support death by stoning. These laws, created in order to punish homosexuality as well as promote strict Muslim values, have faced public backlash as well as been widely criticized internationally.
The Death Penalty: A Global Perspective
Statistics gathered from around the world show that punishment by the death penalty has been declining in recent decades. The human rights organization Amnesty International claims to have recorded at least 690 executions in 20 countries in 2018, which is a 31% decline from the 993 executions it recorded in 23 nations in 2017 and 58% below the 1,634 reported executions in 2015.
Five countries accounted for 84% of all recorded executions in 2018: Iran (253), Saudi Arabia (148), Vietnam (85), Iraq (52) and Egypt (43). Nonetheless, executions in Iran fell by half in 2018, as the country revised its death-penalty law to bar capital punishment for some drug offenses. At the end of 2018, Amnesty International said, 106 countries had abolished the death penalty in law for all crimes and 142 had abolished it in law or practice. In December, a United Nations General Assembly resolution calling for a global moratorium on the death penalty received the support of a record 121 countries, while only 35 nations opposed the resolution.
“Slowly but steadily, global consensus is building towards ending the use of the death penalty, but with more than 19,000 people still languishing on death row worldwide, the struggle is far from over” (United Nations Assembly).
In global terms, the death penalty is overall being imposed with reduced frequency and carried out more sparingly. However, there are still people being hanged, lethally injected, shot or even beheaded. And in the case of Brunei, they are being sentenced to death by stoning.
What is Happening in Brunei?
Beginning on April 3 of 2019, any individuals found guilty of the offenses of homosexual sex or adultery will be stoned to death, according to the new penal code of Brunei. The country's strict new laws were announced in 2014, and have been rolled out gradually. The latest phase of implementation which included death by stoning, was quietly announced on the Brunei attorney general's website on December 29, 2018.
Despite these new laws, Brunei has not been known for inhumane rulings. For example, no known executions have occurred in Brunei since 1957 and current information shows that currently there is at least one person on death row, and in 2017 one death sentence was issued. However, this is likely to change in the near future with the implementation of the strict new rulings.
Previously, homosexuality was illegal in Brunei and punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment. The introduction of these new laws however, would allow torture and stoning for Muslims found guilty of adultery, sodomy and rape. The new punishments, which also include amputation of hands and feet for thieves, will make Brunei the first country in east or southeast Asia to have a sharia penal code at the national level. Mostly Middle Eastern countries, such as Saudi Arabia, are the only other known nations that adhere to sharia law.
“The Brunei government … tries to play down the horrible, horrible setbacks for human rights,” Barbara Lochbihler, MEP European Parliament.
Brunei has claimed it would only impose the new penalties when it had strong evidence and that its primary aim was prevention rather than punishment. The sultan of Brunei currently shows no sign of changing his ruling, as the Muslim-majority country issued a statement in early April insisting that Brunei “enforces its own rule of law”. In addition, in a public address he called for “stronger” Islamic teachings in the country and said said that Brunei was “fair and happy”. He claimed that he wanted the Muslim call to prayer to ring out in all public places, not just in mosques, to remind people of their Islamic duties.
International Response to Brunei Death Penalty
Many European and global organizations have condemned Brunei’s actions. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet has urged the government of Brunei to halt the entry into force of the revised penal code, citing that it was a violation of international human rights. International lawmakers have also called on the European Union to consider asset freezes and visa bans on the Southeast Asian nation. In addition, there is strong public outcry to blacklist nine global hotels owned the Brunei Investment Agency, including The Dorchester in London and The Beverly Hills Hotel in Los Angeles.
In addition, various celebrities have spoken out against this attack on human rights, such as Ellen DeGeneres and George Clooney. Television host and personality DeGeneres posted on her twitter account the names of the nine Brunei owned international hotels along with a statement in support of the homosexual community in Brunei. In addition, on March 28th actor George Clooney wrote an opinion article for Deadline in which he urged readers to deny support of the hotels and consider how their money is being spent to support inhuman leaders in Brunei.
“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," George Clooney.