The Sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah has returned an honorary degree he received from the University of Oxford in England after global backlash targeted at him over his proposal to punish people who engage in same-sex relations with death penalty.
After sparking outrage over the harsh laws he announced in April, stipulating that gay sex and adultery require death by stoning, while lesbian sex will attract whipping and anyone caught stealing will be amputated, Oxford reached out to the Sultan about the honorary law degree the distinguished institution awarded him in 1993, according to Reuters.
“As part of the review process, the university wrote to notify the sultan on 26 April 2019, asking for his views by 7 June 2019,” the university told Reuters via email. “Through a letter dated 6 May 2019, the sultan replied with his decision to return the degree.”
This comes after more than 115,000 people signed a petition on Change.org calling on Oxford to rescind the degree.
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