--- description: The country announced a harsh new punishments as part of its implementation of Sharia law, including death by stoning for gay sex title: Gay Sex to Be Punishable With Death by Stoning in Brunei image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbfa8de28cb856309/698947747cdbac1776d5f453/brunei-gay-sex-punishable-death.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Brunei](/tag/brunei/) ## Brunei Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Gay Sex Is About to Become Punishable With Death by Stoning in Brunei by [Amy Gunia](/author/amy-gunia/) ## Amy Gunia Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Gunia was a reporter for TIME based in Hong Kong. Mar 28, 2019 9:41 AM CUT  Brunei Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah announces the introduction of the sharia law penal code to the Southeast Asia country in its capital of Bandar Seri Begawan on Apr. 30, 2014. Brunei Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah announces the introduction of the sharia law penal code to the Southeast Asia country in its capital of Bandar Seri Begawan on Apr. 30, 2014.—Kyodo by [Amy Gunia](/author/amy-gunia/) ## Amy Gunia Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Gunia was a reporter for TIME based in Hong Kong. Mar 28, 2019 9:41 AM CUT Brunei has announced that the punishment for gay sex and adultery from April 3 onwards will include [death by stoning](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/mar/28/brunei-brings-in-death-by-stoning-as-punishment-for-gay-sex "undefined"), as the country moves forward with its implementation of Sharia law. Other harsh punishments, like amputation of a hand or foot for theft, will also be put in place, according to the _Guardian_. “To legalise such cruel and inhuman penalties is appalling of itself,” Rachel Chhoa-Howard, Brunei researcher at Amnesty International, said in a statement to the _Guardian_. **_Read More:_**[_A Non-Muslim Has Been Punished Under Shari’a Law in Indonesia for the First Time_](http://time.com/4291832/indonesia-aceh-christian-muslim-sharia-law-alcohol/ "undefined") Homosexuality is already illegal in Brunei, but had previously been punishable by prison, according to the _Guardian_. The death penalty will reportedly apply to only Muslims for homosexual sex. The majority Muslim Southeast Asian nation introduced [Sharia law](http://time.com/15320/the-sultan-of-brunei-intends-to-stone-adulterers-wait-what-century-is-this/ "undefined") in 2014, but has been slow to enact new rules given harsh international criticism. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5560200/brunei-gay-sex-death-by-stoning/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5560200/brunei-gay-sex-death-by-stoning/"},"headline":"Gay Sex Is About to Become Punishable With Death by Stoning in Brunei","datePublished":"2019-03-28T09:41:20.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T23:09:45.538Z","description":"The new punishment is part of the country's implementation of Sharia law","url":"https://time.com/5560200/brunei-gay-sex-death-by-stoning/","keywords":["Brunei","onetime","overnight"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbfa8de28cb856309/698947747cdbac1776d5f453/brunei-gay-sex-punishable-death.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Amy Gunia","jobTitle":"Gunia was a reporter for TIME based in Hong Kong.","url":"https://time.com/author/amy-gunia/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbfa8de28cb856309/698947747cdbac1776d5f453/brunei-gay-sex-punishable-death.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"brunei-gay-sex-punishable-death","caption":"Brunei Gay Sex Punishable Death by Stoning","creditText":"—Kyodo","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/brunei/","name":"Brunei"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5560200/brunei-gay-sex-death-by-stoning/","name":"Gay Sex Is About to Become Punishable With Death by Stoning in Brunei"}}]}] ```