Brunei Halts Plans To Enforce Death Penalty For Same-Sex Activity Following Global Outcry

On Sunday, 5 May, the sultan extended a moratorium, which is a temporary suspension, on the death penalty to the new laws.

He said that the death penalty would not be imposed in the implementation of the Shariah Penal Code Order (SPCO), according to BBC.

In a televised address, the sultan said he was aware there had been "many questions and misperceptions" regarding the implementation of the legislation, Al Jazeera reported.

"As evident for more than two decades, we have practised a de facto moratorium on the execution of death penalty for cases under the common law. This will also be applied to cases under the [Islamic penal code], which provides a wider scope for remission," he added.

While saying that the moratorium on the death penalty would be applied, he defended the new rules and said that their "merit" would become clear.

Under the laws introduced last month, offences such as rape, adultery, sodomy, robbery, and insult or defamation of the Prophet Muhammad carry the maximum penalty of death.

Certain crimes already commanded the death penalty in Brunei, including premeditated murder and drug trafficking. However, no executions have been carried out since the 1990s.

The sultan's comments during his announcement suggested that this will not change with the introduction of the new harsh laws.