Under 'vicious' new laws, gay sex, adultery punishable by death in Brunei

Starting on April 3, anyone found guilty of committing adultery or engaging in gay sex in Brunei will be stoned to death, and individuals convicted of theft will have their hands amputated.

The Sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah, announced the kingdom's new penal code in May 2014, and its laws have been slowly introduced ever since. Brunei, a small country in southeast Asia, became the first in the region to adopt Sharia law, a strict Islamic legal system. The executions will be "witnessed by a group of Muslims," the government announced.

These punishments are "vicious," Amnesty International's Rachel Chhoa-Howard said in a statement. The human rights organization is asking the international community to "urgently condemn Brunei's move to put these cruel penalties into practice."

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