Death penalty could return, say gays in Brunei ‘living hell’

WHEN the Sultan of Brunei announced a suspension last week on the much-condemned death penalty for gay sex, some hailed the move as a major advance. But inside the tiny southeast Asian nation, members of the gay community say there is little reason to celebrate and much still to fear.

In an interview with The Daily Telegraph, one gay man, who asked to be identified only as “M”, warned that the apparent turnaround would only be temporary.

He said the moratorium declared after an international backlash was a “performative” reprieve adopted in part due to Ramadan.

Once the religious season was over, M said he expected the death penalty would be reinstated. “It’s a living hell here either way,” he said.

One young lesbian, who asked to be identified as ‘T’, said that she was ostracised after a friend discovered and revealed her sexuality.

After she was fired from her job, an influential man blackmailed her into acting as his prostitute, saying he would out her and block her access to work.

T said regardless of the legal situation, she is “already living a prison sentence”.

The sultan drew global condemnation over the Shariah penal code, which mandates punishments including death by stoning for sex outside marriage and anal sex; and 40 lashes for lesbian sex.

After protests from the West, the authoritarian leader said a moratorium on the death penalty for two decades would also be applied to the new laws.

However, the announcement – accompanied by a rare English translation – was described as a “cynical attempt to reassure critics” by Neela Ghoshal, of Human Rights Watch’s LGBT rights programme.

“The sultan could reverse his decision on a whim, and the punishments of amputation and whipping could still be used,” Ms Ghoshal said.