Ellen, US State Officials Condemn Brunei Gay Death Penalty

More and more activists and government officials are condemning Brunei’s decision to return to draconian hard-line Islamic laws that would see gay people punished by death with stoning, reports the New York Post.

The new laws are part of a three-phase rollout of a stricter Islamic code, the first of which began being implemented in 2014.

“Among the punishments will be the amputation of limbs for theft, the death penalty for apostasy, and a range of punishments for those found guilty of engaging in sexual activity with members of the same gender and adultery,” the human rights advocacy group, The Brunei Project, has reported.

Among those speaking out is comedian Ellen DeGeneres, who tweeted that people “need to do something now.”

The comedian then posted a list of hotels owned by the Sultan of Brunei, asking for them to be boycotted.

Robert Palladino, Deputy Spokesperson under US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, has also condemned the new laws, saying they are in direct contradiction to the country’s international human rights obligations: “All governments have an obligation to ensure that all people can freely enjoy the universal human rights and fundamental freedoms to which they are entitled,” he said.

“The United States strongly opposes violence, criminalization and discrimination targeting vulnerable groups, including women at risk of violence, religious and ethnic minorities, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) persons.

“We continue to encourage Brunei to ratify and implement the United Nations Convention Against Torture, which it signed in 2015, and to sign, ratify, and implement the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.”

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