"Come and see for yourself!" says Brunei Tourism.

A Brunei tourism group has some highly suspect advice for LGBTQ travelers wondering if it’s safe to visit: Come and find out for yourself!

The oil-rich sultanate drew international condemnation in March when Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah announced the rollout of laws mandating the death penalty for homosexuality. As part of its shariah code, which was originally passed in 2014 and implemented in phases, individuals convicted of offenses such as gay sex, adultery, and rape would be stoned to death. Erywan Pehin Yusof, Brunei’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, defended the law as “more focused on prevention than punishment.”

However, the death penalty portion of the shariah code was tabled in early May after celebrities like Elton John, George Clooney, and Ellen Degeneres urged fans not to do business with the Dorchester Collection, a hotel chain operated by Brunei’s government. Its holdings include the famed Beverly Hills Hotel.

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But weeks after the moratorium was announced, an independent travel group known as “Brunei Tourism” wants LGBTQ travelers to know everything is fine.

“[W]e’d like to assure all visitors and tourists to Brunei that there’s no change in policy as far as we know,” an unnamed representative for Brunei Tourism claimed in a May 20 email to NewNowNext. “Seems there’s been so much misunderstanding and misintrepretation [sic] regarding the Sharia Law.”

When asked about how the criminal codes had been misconstrued, the tourism group claimed that LGBTQ individuals would not face scrutiny under the law if they do not “conduct themselves improperly in public.” The author of the email, who declined multiple times to state their name despite not being asked to identify themselves, cited their “friends and acquaintances who are gay living among us” as evidence the LGBTQ community has nothing to fear.

“In day to day living the LGBT community … continue to live happily as usual,” the organization said.

Sensing these claims would not pass the smell test, the organization advised interested parties to take a whiff themselves. “Come to Brunei for a visit, bring along your LGBT friends, and see for yourself,” claimed Brunei Tourism.

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NewNowNext reached out to the organization on March 27 when the death penalty mandate was originally announced. Despite multiple attempts, Brunei Tourism did not respond until last week, nearly two months after the initial emails were sent. Given the long gap in communications and the extreme dubiousness of the group’s claims, this publication replied with numerous questions. None were met with a satisfactory answer.

In a series of increasingly bizarre emails, Brunei Tourism claimed the “likes of Ellen Degeneres” misrepresented what the shariah law entails.

LGBTQ people are “not the least threatened” under the criminal code, the group said, “as long as they don’t engage in sex in public.”

“For that matter all of us who are heterosexual and Muslims are also not supposed to engage in sexual activities in public,” the message continued. “That much we can say. There’s no change in day to day living as far as we’re concerned. And we actually live in Brunei, so we should know what we’re saying. Why don’t you come visit Brunei, bring all your LGBT friends, meet local LGBT friends, and see for yourself.”

Allegations that the shariah law merely relates to acts of public sexual intercourse are patently false and have already been disproven. While Erywan Pehin Yusof defended the shariah code by saying it would ensure same-sex activity is “limited to the private space,” the international advocacy organization Human Rights Watch (HRW) countered that the “language of the law specifically criminalizes same-sex sexual acts in private” in a May 22 rebuke to the foreign affairs minister.

“Brunei’s new penal code is a multifaceted assault on fundamental human rights,” claimed Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at HRW, in a statement.

“The Sultan holds absolute power in #Brunei, so responsibility for this abhorrent penal code falls squarely on his shoulders. Brunei’s repeated commitments to respect human rights amount to little so long as the Syariah Penal Code is in force” says @hrw https://t.co/qhUQ3ro7zD pic.twitter.com/7egezaBREc — Phil Robertson (@Reaproy) May 26, 2019

Additionally, what Brunei Tourism does not mention is that homosexuality remains illegal in Brunei: Being convicted of engaging same-sex intercourse is met with jail time and up to 100 lashes. There are also laws on the books targeting transgender people who live in accordance with their gender identity, according to HRW.

The travel agency also took issue with speculation that LGBTQ tourists to Brunei could have been criminalized under the stoning law, had it not been shelved.

“[M]any of us are tour guides, and we know of no LGBTQ visitors who are specially targeted,” Brunei Tourism claimed. “Some foreigners have even commented that LGBTQ visitors are subject to arrest upon arrival at the airport! Such remarks from people who have never set foot in the country. Never happened and just won’t happen. Not in Brunei. Brunei is a peaceful country with peace loving people.”

While Brunei Tourism suggested that critics of Brunei, activists, and members of the media willfully spread misinformation about the law’s impact on LGBTQ tourists, whether queer and trans travelers faced arrest was an open question left unanswered by the law itself.

In a 1778-page document released by the Brunei government before the stoning law’s implementation, it warns that “any person” who engages in sexual relations “against the order of nature” is subject to its jurisdiction. Not wishing to engage in fear-mongering, NewNowNext reached out to every foreign affairs bureau in Brunei, including the U.S. Embassy based in the capital of Bandar Seri Begawan, to make sure the definition of “any person” does not include LGBTQ foreigners.

Not a single agency responded to numerous emails. This publication stated as much in correspondence with Brunei Tourism.

“If this law did not impact LGBTQ tourists and there was some misconception [about the situation], they had every opportunity to clarify the situation and chose not to do so,” NewNowNext previously reported.

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The group defended the Brunei government, stating that officials were being “overly cautious” by declining to comment. Again declining to disclose their identity (without being prompted to do so), the individual clarified the group is “not operated by the government” and is instead run by “local youngsters” and “volunteers.”

“Sorry, we prefer to remain anonymous,” the representative said. “But we’re legit. We are all involved in tour operation, with decades of combined experience.”

Brunei Tourism turned down the opportunity to further discuss the matter over Skype. When asked for additional sources to verify their claims (or maybe an LGBTQ individual who could testify to their alleged happiness, even anonymously), the group said they could not assist in NewNowNext’s reporting.

However, the organization did link to a video which promises to “demystify” the shariah law for outsiders who do not live in Brunei. It claims the criminal codes were merely meant to scare LGBTQ people, not kill them.

Although the death penalty is not currently being enforced for queer and trans people in Brunei, the law has not officially been struck down. In a televised speech announcing the sultanate would the halt enforcement of capital punishment, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah signaled the shariah code could still be implemented after the “many questions and misconceptions with regard to [the law’s] implementation” are addressed.

“However, we believe that once these have been cleared, the merit of the law will be evident,” he claimed.

Neela Ghoshal, an LGBTQ researcher for HRW, claimed the “sultan could reverse his decision on a whim,” as he holds absolute power in the Muslim municipality of 428,000 people.

“[T]he punishments of amputation and whipping could still be used,” Ghoshal said in a May 9 press release. “Even if its harshest provisions are not enforced, the law will serve its evident purpose: to terrorize and silence people, and cement discrimination against LGBTQ people and women.”