On April 30, the Sultan of Brunei announced “a controversial new penal code” based on sharia law.
According to AFP the penal code is being introduced one phase at a time and will eventually “include flogging, amputation, and death by stoning for various crimes.”
UN human rights officials have “criticized” the new code and the human rights office says it is “deeply concerned” because international law classifies “stoning” as “torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”
Brunei officials counter by saying the harshest punishments “would require an extremely high burden of proof.” They indicate “judges would have wide discretion to avoid such punishments.”
The sultan also warned against “pernicious foreign influences such as the internet.”
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