Attorney General postpones London trip to hotel owned by Sultan of Brunei

Séamus Woulfe SC

The International Academy of Trial Lawyers (IATL) is holding its 2019 annual meeting in the Dorchester Hotel from today until Sunday.

The hotel has been subject to repeated protests since Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei announced new laws that will see homosexuality, sodomy, adultery and rape in the Asian country punished with death by stoning.

The Attorney General’s attendance of the event, where he is due to be presented with an award, was raised in the Dáil yesterday.

Sinn Féin TD Seán Crowe said the hotel was subject to an “international boycott” and challenged the Government to “ensure the Attorney General will refuse to cross the picket and break the boycott”.

Sinn Féin TD Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire added: “The hotel is the locus of the protests taking place against what are absolutely appalling laws brought forward by the Sultan of Brunei. The hotel is in his sole ownership.

“It would be inappropriate for the Attorney General or any member of the Government to patronise it while the protest is ongoing.”

Tánaiste Simon Coveney responded: “I join the Deputies in utterly rejecting and criticising recent policy decisions made by the Sultan of Brunei.

“It is barbaric to propose that anybody be stoned, never mind that people be stoned on the basis of their sexual preference or identity. It is a significant retrograde step and we have an obligation to speak out against it, as I am happy to do.

“As regards the event to which the Deputies are referring, I will need to speak to the Attorney General. My understanding is he has been invited to an event in a private capacity, but I need to establish the full details before I can give the Deputies a more definitive answer.”