Photo: APNew Islamic criminal laws in Brunei that punish 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. 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. "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: Otago Daily Times April 03, 2019 19:52 UTC