Britain flies flags at half-mast for anti-gay late Saudi King
Tributes have been paid to the late King of Saudi Arabia Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, who has died, with flags being flown at half mast on UK Government buildings.
The 90-year-old monarch died after suffering from a lung infection, and is succeeded by his half-brother Salman.
The Prime Minister David Cameron has said he is “deeply saddened” by the passing of the King, and the Prince of Wales is to travel to Saudi Arabia to represent the queen and to “pay his condolences”.
Despite floods of tributes from British figures, including claims that the King modernised or “reformed” Saudi Arabia, LGBT people still face harsh treatment there.
There are no legal protections for LGBT people in Saudi Arabia, and Britain and the US have often been criticised for being close to the oil-rich nation where gay people are stoned to death.
Concerns were raised in during a state visit to the UK by the late King in 2007 about the treatment of women and gay people by the Saudi kingdom.
Women are not granted the vote, and are unable to drive in Saudi Arabia.
Many on Twitter have criticised the choice to fly all flags at half mast given the appalling treatment of LGBT people and women in the Saudi kingdom.
Disgusting that flags are being flown at half mast for the death of an autocrat. If anything we should double the length of the flagpoles
— Tom Copley (@tomcopley) January 23, 2015
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UK flags at half-mast for King Abdullah. Should we ban women from driving for the day too? https://t.co/7QF6sngpoI— James Ball (@jamesrbuk) January 23, 2015
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Given these human rights abuses in Saudia Arabia its hardly appropriate to fly flags at half-mast for King Abdullah https://t.co/KS4uGIwCqG— Will Straw (@wdjstraw) January 23, 2015
