Brunei's Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, center. Photo: AFP/Getty Images
The U.S. added its voice to the global condemnation of Brunei's sharia law making homosexual intercourse and adultery punishable by stoning to death, which came into force Wednesday.
Details: Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah said he wants to make Brunei's Islamic teachings stronger, AFP reports. State Department spokesman Robert Palladino said the law runs counter to human rights obligations "with respect to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment." Human Rights Watch called it'''barbaric to the core."