A 44-year-old Mexican-British national has been detained in Qatar since February 4 because of his homosexuality, his relatives say in a statement in which they accuse the country led by Tamim ben Hamad Al-Thani, who met Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday, for having trapped him and demand the intervention of the Mexican government.
Manuel Guerrero Aviña, an employee of the airline Qatar Airways, who has lived for seven years in the emirate where sexual relations between people of the same sex are criminalized, is deprived in prison of the drugs necessary for the treatment of HIV, of which he is a carrier.
“We demand that the Qatari authorities respect the rights of all people in the LGBT community
,” responded the Mexican branch of Amnesty International, expressing
“its deep concern”
on the social network X.
“The Mexican embassy visited him, but we need a clear and strong statement that demands the release of Manuel Guerrero
,” Enrique Guerrero, his brother and human rights activist, told AFP.
In a statement, the Mexican embassy passed responsibility for its protection to the British consulate, with Manuel Guerrero registered as a British resident in Qatar.
Fake profile on the dating app Grindr
Manuel Guerrero was allegedly trapped by Qatari police, who allegedly arranged a meeting from a fake profile on the dating app Grindr, the person said in a letter written to his brother from prison.
At the time of his arrest, police officers allegedly hid a quarter of a gram of methamphetamine in his apartment, according to his brother.
In prison, Manuel Guerrero is pushed to denounce other members of the LGBT community in Qatar among his phone contacts, and to listen to other prisoners being beaten.
“He was forced to sign numerous documents in Arabic which he does not understand. He had no interpreter or lawyer. The embassies were never informed by the Qatari government
,” insisted Enrique Guerrero.
Despite its attempts, AFP was unable to contact the Qatari embassy in Mexico.
A
“Manuel Guerrero Committee”
was formed in Mexico.
In April 2022, a Mexican woman was protected by the Mexican embassy, accused of adultery after reporting a sexual assault.
Under Qatari law, she faced 100 lashes and at least seven years in prison.