The penalties were provided for under new sections of Brunei's Shariah Penal Code. The first stage of the Shariah Penal Code included fines or jail for offenses such as pregnancy out of wedlock or failing to pray on Fridays. But under the new laws, those found guilty of gay sex can be stoned to death or whipped. Michelle Bachelet, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, urged Brunei's government to "stop the entry into force of this Draconian new penal code." "Brunei's new penal code is barbaric to the core, imposing archaic punishments for acts that shouldn't even be crimes," Robertson said in a statement Wednesday.

Source: ABC News April 03, 2019 07:52 UTC