(CNN) Brunei will not impose the death penalty on those convicted of having gay sex, in an apparent bid to temper international condemnation following its roll out of strict new Islamic laws last month. The sultan announced the kingdom's long-term moratorium on the death penalty would also extend to the new penal code, although he didn't elaborate whether this was a new decision. "For more than two decades, we have practiced 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 Syariah Penal Code Order (SPCO)," the sultan said. Despite his announcement on the death penalty, Brunei's leader said Sunday he stood by his new penal code overall.

Source: CNN May 06, 2019 03:42 UTC