Brunei's Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah has returned an honorary law degree awarded by Britain's Oxford University after people across the globe protested against a law proposing death penalty for gay sex. The law also proposes death sentence for adultery, sodomy and rape.
Celebrities like George Clooney, Elton John and many others have protested against the law which was implemented on April 3. Around 1,20,000 people have also signed a petition asking Oxford University to cancel the honorary degree awarded to the Sultan.
According to Oxford University, the Sultan took the decision to return the degree after they gave him time till June 7 for his views on the matter.
The law had prompted many celebrities and activist groups to raise their voice and boycott the hotels owned by the Sultan. Many multinational companies have also taken the matter seriously and banned their staff from using the Sultan's hotels - Dorchester in London and the Beverley Hills Hotel in Los Angeles. Some travel agencies are not even promoting Brunei as a tourist destination. The United Nations has also criticised the law.
Many countries in Asia like Myanmar, Malaysia Singapore have banned gay relationships whereas Indonesia conducts raids on the LGBT people.
Brunei, a former British protectorate of about 400,000 people, was the first country in the region to adopt the criminal component of Shariya law at a national level.
