New Islamic criminal laws that took effect in Brunei on Wednesday, punishing gay sex and adultery by stoning offenders to death, have triggered an outcry from countries, rights groups and celebrities far beyond the tiny Southeast Asian nation's shores.
The penalties were provided for under new sections of Brunei's Shariah Penal Code. Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah instituted the code in 2014 to bolster the influence of Islam in the oil-rich monarchy of around 430,000 people, two-thirds of whom are Muslim.
"Living in Brunei, we already knew that our sexual identity is taboo and should not be expressed. We already felt belittled before the law came to place," said a 23-year-old member of the LGBTQ community who wanted to be identified only as Kun out of fear of reprisal from the authorities. "Are we really going to help fund the murder of innocent citizens?" Clooney wrote Thursday on Deadline Hollywood.
Hassanal, who has reigned since 1967, has previously said the Penal Code should be regarded as a form of "special guidance" from God and would be "part of the great history" of Brunei. "I am very worried that Indonesia or Malaysia may follow the lead," said a 24-year-old man from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia's capital, who wanted to be identified only by his first name, Ludwig. "I think people nowadays, especially the younger generation, are quite OK with LGBT, but those who are not make the loudest noise and they are the reason why it seems like everyone is against it.
"Any religion-based legislation must not violate human rights, including the rights of those belonging to the majority religion as well as of religious minorities and non-believers," she said in a statement on Monday.
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