HRC urges groups to cancel events at Brunei-owned hotels over ‘stone the gays’ law
The Human Rights Campaign has written to every organisation holding an event at Brunei-owned hotels, urging them to relocate over the country’s ‘stone the gays’ law.
The law, which is being phased in as of last Thursday, replaces the maximum ten-year prison sentence for homosexuality with death by stoning in the Islamic state.
Celebrities including Stephen Fry, Ellen DeGeneres and Sharon Osbourne have urged for companies to boycott the Dorchester Collection hotel chain, owned by the Sultan of Brunei.
The letter, from HRC president Chad Griffin, was sent yesterday to charities and organisations who have announced events at the group’s LA-based Hotel Bel-Air and Beverly Hills Hotel.
It reads: “As you may have read, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, who is the absolute ruler of Brunei and one of the world’s wealthiest people, has decreed that a new series of draconian penal code reforms will be implemented in Brunei over the next several months.
“Brunei will soon become the eighth nation that includes the death penalty as an option for ‘punishing’ LGBT people.
“Given the extreme nature of these developments, I feel strongly that we in the LGBT community and our allies should take our business elsewhere.
T”here are a number of hotels and venues in the Los Angeles area that aren’t owned by foreign governments and leaders that allow for the execution of its LGBT citizens.
“We’re encouraging members of the LGBT community and our allies to consider those options instead of the Beverly Hills Hotel and the Hotel Bel-Air, which are part of the Sultan’s Dorchester Collection.
“I write to ask that you reconsider your decision to host an event at either of these hotels, and join other prominent organization–including Gill Action and the Feminist Majority Foundation, among others – who have found alternative venues.”
