UK Health Agency Suspends Brunei Project Over Gay Death Penalty

The UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE) agency has halted a project in Brunei following the country’s announcement of the death penalty for gay citizens, reports The Guardian.

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.

HSE has released a statement saying that they will no longer be involved in any projects involving the country: “HSE is an inclusive organisation and strongly supports LGBT+ rights. Any commercial discussions will now be paused while we review the situation.”

“It is welcome that HSE has listened to our concerns and chosen to pause these deployments to Brunei,” said Garry Graham, deputy general secretary at Prospect.

“We have very grave concerns about civil service staff being asked to work in a country with such a terrible record on equality and respecting the rights of others. It shouldn’t have taken outrage from staff and concerns from ourselves for this change to happen.”

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