In international news, in a letter written to Members of the European Parliament Brunei has defended its decision to impose the death penalty as punishment for gay sex.
Dated April 15, the letter stated that Brunei enforced its own legislation in the interest of preserving its traditional, religious and cultural values, and, as such, they began using the Sharia laws from April 3, punishing sodomy, adultery and rape with the death penalties such as stoning and theft with amputation.
In the letter is was stated that "the criminalisation of adultery and sodomy is to safeguard the sanctity of family lineage and marriage of individual Muslims, particularly women," and that “the offences, therefore will not apply to non-Muslims unless the act of adultery or sodomy is committed with a Muslim.”