The hell of Manuel Guerrero Aviña, the Mexican imprisoned in Qatar for being gay

More than 40 days have passed since Manuel Guerrero Aviña received the message that turned his life into a nightmare.

A man contacted him through Grindr, a popular dating app for gay men, to invite him to a private meeting with other members of the LGBT community in Doha, the capital of Qatar.

The meeting was, in reality, a trap by the Qatari authorities, who opened a false profile to arrange the meeting, detain him and plant drugs on him to justify the arrest.

Manuel Guerrero Aviña has been in prison since February 4 for being gay.

The Mexican citizen, who has lived in the Arab country for years, did not have access to a lawyer or a translator during the first 20 days he spent in prison, his family denounces.

Until now, he is not allowed to have visits from friends or acquaintances, write letters or read books.

He is not guaranteed access to the medications he needs as he is HIV positive.

He has been a victim of humiliation and physical and psychological abuse.

In Qatari lands, being homosexual is a “sin” that is punishable by up to seven years in prison, under Sharia

,

religious law.

After more than a month of international pressure and a cry for justice that has gone viral, this week a light of hope was lit.

Guerrero Aviña's lawyer requested bail so that she could face the process outside of a cell.

But that flame went out in less than three minutes, which lasted during the last court hearing in her case, last Thursday.

A control judge denied the defense request without justifying the decision.

Prosecutors also did not have to explain why they want to keep him in preventive detention.

Qatari laws do not require them to do so.

It is confidential information.

The Mexican also does not know what he is accused of or when the trial will begin or how many years the sentence may be.

The hell that the accused experiences can last for at least six months from the arrest, the period that the authorities have to file formal charges.

“This case should not take place in 2024,” claimed Enrique Guerrero, his brother and human rights lawyer, after announcing updates on the case at a press conference.

“Making a date on Grindr is not a crime, regardless of what you may believe,” Guerrero said with a firm voice, without giving way to defeatism, but without hiding the concern shared by thousands of people who have expressed solidarity with Manuel.

Given the opacity and the geographical and cultural abyss between both countries, almost everything that is known about the case in Mexico has come from the Manuel Guerrero Committee, which brings together family members and groups that have united under the motto “Being gay is not a crime.” ” and “Qatar must release Manuel.”

The efforts go beyond a social media campaign in defense of the rights of the accused, with dual Mexican and British nationality.

The committee has protested outside the UK Embassy in Mexico, held multiple meetings with authorities from both countries to push for his release and formed a coalition to ensure the case does not fall into that abyss.

Consular representatives from Mexico visited Guerrero Aviña in prison last week to make sure he receives his medicines.

This week the controversy reached the Parliaments of both countries.

Caroline Lucas, a Greens representative, asked Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to report whether she has been in contact with her Qatari counterpart about the case and what steps she has taken to ensure she receives medical treatment.

The Foreign Relations Commission of the Chamber of Deputies has also followed up.

The relatives report that he only has antiretrovirals left for about 10 days and that “his life is at risk” because they have not been provided by the authorities and because they are not available in that country.

They also recognize that, although international pressure has helped make the case visible, the Mexican has faced new reprisals.

“What the State of Qatar is doing is torturing a Mexican and British citizen in the face of the Governments of Mexico and the United Kingdom, sentencing him to death in their face,” claims his brother, who demands more vigorous measures that culminate in the repatriation of Manuel.

The consular representatives of both countries, for example, were not present at Guerrero Aviña's last hearing, according to family members.

The ambush against Guerrero Aviña is not the first of its kind in Qatar.

Dr. Nas Mohamed, an openly homosexual Qatari activist, assured that there have been at least thirty similar cases in recent months, although many are not made public so as not to put the lives of the victims at risk or because they come from contexts and conservative countries.

The authorities of the Arab country target members of the LGBT community and try to justify arrests, humiliating treatment or false therapies to “cure homosexuality” under the pretext of prosecuting other crimes or by fabricating “false evidence,” the doctor accuses.

“We need to expose the systematic hunting that Qatar is doing,” said Mohamed, exiled in the United States.

The doctor reported that he is still the target of death threats and that he suffers harassment from the Qatari government due to his sexual orientation.

The authorities of the Arab country have not commented publicly on the allegations.

Mohamed became a recognized figure, being presented during the 2022 World Cup in several international media as “the first Qatari to come out of the closet,” in an attempt to ensure that the sporting event was not used to whitewash the situation of the human rights in Qatar.

The activist explained that, although there are some interpretations of religious laws that open the door for the death penalty to be applied as a punishment for homosexuality, that has not been the case in his country.

Even so, seducing another man is punishable by three years in prison, copulation between people of the same sex with seven years, and sodomy with up to 10 years, according to the Penal Code.

The International Association of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex People (Ilga Mundo) found evidence of attacks against gender-based minorities committed last year in 32 countries, including 27 that still legally criminalize having a sexual orientation, identity or gender expression different.

In 2021, Qatar acknowledged before the United Nations Human Rights Committee that at least eight people were imprisoned for “homosexuality,” cites the latest study by Ilga Mundo.

Guerrero Aviña's lawyer is expected to appeal the ruling that denied him bail this Sunday and the judge is expected to issue a new resolution next Monday.

At this point in the case, there are only two legal scenarios: that he faces the case outside of prison or that he remains deprived of his liberty.

The family and the committee still maintain hope that he can return home and ask the Mexican and British representatives to put aside the interests surrounding their diplomatic and commercial relations with Qatar and prioritize the integrity of the imprisoned citizen and his health. .

“The only acceptable response for us, for the family, for the LGBT community, for the people of Mexico and the United Kingdom is for Manuel to be repatriated, it is the only thing that will guarantee his life and dignity,” his brother concluded.

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