Brunei boycott deepens amid growing backlash to anti-gay laws
More organisations are boycotting luxury hotels owned by Brunei after the country introduced stoning as a punishment for gay sex.
Saturday 6 April 2019 20:00, UK
Pressure is mounting on the sultan of Brunei after new laws punishing homosexuality with stoning sparked international outrage.
Protests are taking place outside The Dorchester hotel, one of the luxury venues owned by the state, later today - with celebrities urging fans to join them in a boycott.
Many of the demonstrators have been carrying placards and banners calling for homophobia to be stamped out, as well as rainbow flags.
LGBT and human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell, who is leading the action, told Sky News: "We believe that the sultan of Brunei is not only violating international human rights law, but is violating the pledges that he gave to uphold the commonwealth charter, which guarantees human rights, equality and non-discrimination.
"What is particularly shocking about the sultan's actions is that he is basically copying the punishments that were implemented by ISIS in Iraq and Syria."
The University of Aberdeen is considering revoking an honorary degree it bestowed on Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah.
Meanwhile, several companies have announced they are cutting ties with businesses owned by the country.
Under new Islamic criminal laws, which apply to children and foreigners even if they are not Muslim, those found guilty of gay sex could be stoned to death or whipped.
Those convicted of adultery also face stoning, while thieves risk having their right hand amputated on a first offence and their left foot on a second.
Brunei is a small, oil-rich monarchy on the island of Borneo. It is home to about 430,000 people, two-thirds of whom are Muslim.
Sultan Bolkiah, 72, is the world's second-longest reigning prime minister and monarch.
The University of Aberdeen confirmed it is reviewing the LLD (doctor of laws) given to the sultan in 1995.
In a statement, a spokesman said: "The University of Aberdeen is inclusive and open to all.
"In light of this new information this matter will be raised as a matter of urgency with the university's honorary degrees committee."
King's College London told Pink News they would be reviewing the degree it bestowed eight years ago.
However, Oxford University appears to be refusing to budge on the honorary degree it gave the sultan in 1993 - despite more than 50,000 people signing a petition asking the university to revoke it.
The Oxford Student reported that the university would not be rescinding the honour but shared the "international condemnation" against the laws.
STA Travel, a global travel company owned by a Swiss conglomerate, said it would no longer sell flights on Royal Brunei Airlines.
In a statement, the agency said: "We've taken this stance to add our voice to the calls on Brunei to reverse this change in the law and in support of LGBTQI people everywhere."
Virgin Australia Airlines has ended an agreement with Royal Brunei Airlines which gave Virgin staff discounted flights.
Deutsche Bank has banned its staff from staying in the nine Dorchester Collection hotels owned by the Brunei Investment Agency (BIA).
Estate agent Knight Frank also said it would stop using the hotels.
The BIA has not commented.
George Clooney, Sir Elton John and Ellen DeGeneres are among those to have voiced opposition to the regime and called for a boycott of hotels owned by the sultan.
Three of them are in the UK and include the Dorchester Hotel in London and Coworth Park in Ascot.
Coworth is where Prince Harry stayed the night before his wedding to Meghan, now Duchess of Sussex.
A campaign on social media asking Transport for London to take down adverts for Brunei which have been spotted in some Underground stations prompted TfL to say it would remove them due to "great public sensitivity".
The death penalties came as part of new sections of Brunei's sharia penal code.
Sultan Hassanal introduced the code in 2014 to bolster the influence of Islam in the country, but even before then, homosexuality was punishable by a jail term of up to 10 years.
The first stage of sharia law's penal code includes fines or jail for offences such as pregnancy out of wedlock or failing to pray on Fridays.
The Sovereign Wealth Centre estimates that the BIA has $39bn (£29.9bn) in assets.
The Dorchester Collection appealed against the boycott, saying its values were "far removed from the politics of the ownership".
The statement added: "We understand people's anger and frustration but this is a political and religious issue that we don't believe should be played out in our hotels and amongst our 3,630 employees."
As well as the hotel group, the BIA owns about 4% of a digital tech venture capital firm Draper Espirit plc. Its chief executive Simon Cook said the company "naturally abhor" the laws in Brunei, but the shares were bought on the open market.
A Foreign Office spokesperson said: "In discussions with his counterpart earlier this week, the Foreign Secretary expressed his deep concern with Brunei over this appalling decision and was clear that nobody should face persecution or discrimination because of who they are or whom they love.
"As well as being illegal under international human rights laws, these punishments are cruel, inhumane and degrading.
"But rather than threatening to kick countries out of the Commonwealth, we believe the best way to make progress and encourage Brunei to uphold its international human rights obligations is via a constructive dialogue on this issue."