Qatari arrest of gay airline employee considered ‘torture’

A gay airline employee’s family is asking for his release from a Qatari jail, claiming that the authorities tortured him by not allowing him to take his HIV medication.

Manuel Guerrero, 44, relocated to Qatar seven years ago for professional reasons, as homosexuality is prohibited there. His family claim that he was arrested on February 4 and that the dual citizen, Mexican and British, was tricked by police using a fictitious Grindr profile. Additionally, they assert that authorities planted a quarter of a gram of methamphetamine in his flat in order to frame him for narcotics possession.

Enrique, Guerrero’s brother, said that their family was not notified of his detention for 23 days following it. Guerrero “was forced to sign numerous documents in Arabic that he does not understand,” he said to Agence France Press. He had neither a lawyer nor an interpreter. The Qatari government never notified the embassies.”
“It’s not acceptable for a Mexican and British citizen to be imprisoned because of their sexual orientation,” he stated.

Guerrero also disclosed to his brother that he was compelled by Qatari officials to disclose the identities of other LGBTQ+ individuals, and that they are presently declining to provide him his HIV medication. In an interview with The US Sun, Enrique went on to describe the actions as “torture” and claimed that his brother had been denied food and drink by the authorities, and that he had also been made to watch other inmates being whipped.
Because Guerrero was listed as a British resident of Qatar, the Mexican embassy said in a statement distributed to various media that British delegates had to communicate with Qatari authorities. However, they pledged to “do everything within the power of the Mexican state to safeguard Manuel’s rights, his dignity, and his access to necessary health treatments.”

Only that it is “providing consular assistance to a British man who is detained in Qatar and are supporting his family” was confirmed by a UK Foreign Office official.
On March 13, Guerrero will appear in court, and public prosecutors will determine whether to charge him with a crime or ban him from the country. Enrique stated that “sending the case to trial would imply a process of months which without adequate medical treatment would condemn him to death.”

“Human rights supersede their homophobic laws, but Qatar penalizes homosexuality and any issues pertaining to sexual diversity,” he said in the interview. “Sexual diversity and orientation are human rights, not crimes.”