The brother of Manuel Guerrero Aviña, a gay Mexican-British man detained in Qatar and accused of drug possession, has given more details of what he claims was a “trap” that was set for him due to his sexuality via the Grindr dating app. .
Enrique Guerrero told the BBC that a man who called himself “Gio” contacted his brother via Grindr to plan a date.
But when he was going to meet with “Gio”, Manuel was confronted by police officers who arrested him, accusing him of carrying drugs.
The Mexican citizen, who has HIV, has been denied his medication, according to his family.
Manuel, who also has British nationality, wants the United Kingdom government to help him return to the European country to continue his treatment.
Amnesty International says the experience of Manuel, who remains in custody, is “horrendous” and says his trial was flawed. “marred by a series of due process violations.”
Other human rights organizations the BBC has spoken to echo his concerns.
Meanwhile, Qatari officials insist that Manuel has been treated “with respect and dignity.”
At first glance, “Gio,” who also called himself “Mike,” appeared to be just another of the crowd of men typically found on dating apps.
His Grindr profile, to which the BBC had access, was full of photos of him in the gym, in which he showed off his abs.
In addition, he mentioned that he liked soccer, karaoke and Netflix productions.
He also had a similar profile on Tinderwhere your identity should have been verified using the app’s facial recognition technology.
Enrique claims that his brother exchanged phone numbers with the man and invited him to his apartment in Doha, the capital of Qatar.
But when Manuel went down to the entrance of his building to meet “Gio”, he was confronted by Qatari police officers, according to Enrique, who immediately handcuffed and arrested him.
Homosexuality is illegal in Qatar, but Manuel, who works for an airline, had lived a “normal life” for the past seven years and had never been in trouble with the authorities, his family claims.
They “planted” drugs on him
Qatari authorities insist that the 44-year-old’s arrest in February was “for possession of illegal substances in his possession and in his apartment” and that “other factors were not taken into account.”
They allege that he “acknowledged” being in possession of illegal substances.
“A drug screen later came back positive, confirming the presence of illegal substances, specifically amphetamine and methamphetamine, in Mr. Aviña’s system at the time of his arrest.”
Enrique maintains that Manuel did not consume any drugs and claims that they planted a small amount of methamphetamine on him and that they “pressured” him to accept that it was his.
The BBC has not been able to independently verify all claims made by Manuel and his family.
Many of the allegations about his treatment after his arrest occurred behind closed doors and with few witnesses.
However, Manuel’s family has presented a detailed chronology of events.
Likewise, previous reports, both on the treatment of the LBGT community and the behavior of the police in the country, They suggest that other people have suffered similar experiences.
While in custody at the police station, Manuel allegedly witnessed officers “spanking others on the back” and threatening to do the same if he did not sign several legal documents.
Manuel told his family that these documents were written in Arabic, a language he does not speak, and that he did not have access to a translator or legal advice.
Enrique says that when Manuel told the authorities that he has HIVthey placed him in solitary confinement and sporadically refused to give him his medication in order to pressure him into sharing information about other gay men.
But he refused to do so.
Between 6 months and 3 years in prison
They interrogated Manuel for hours, according to his brother.
Denying medication to a prisoner is “morally intolerable” and could have very serious consequences for Manuel’s healthsays the National Aids Trust, a UK charity.
The charity is calling on the UK government to intervene and help with Manuel’s return to the country so he can receive appropriate treatment.
Qatari officials told the BBC that Manuel was “treated with respect and dignity during his detention.”
They told him that he faces a sentence of between six months and three years in prison for drug possession and use.
But for now, after spending 42 days in a Qatari detention center, he has been granted provisional release and is staying with friends while he awaits further court appearances.
They have taken Manuel’s passport; The conditions of his release mean he is banned from traveling abroad.
Dana Ahmed, Amnesty International’s Middle East researcher, says the treatment he received during his detention and later in his first trial sessions “raises serious fears that Manuel is being persecuted for his sexual orientation and coerced into providing authorities with information they could crack down on LGBTI people in Qatar.”
Serious health problems
Manuel’s family has told the BBC that in mid-April his treatment prescribed by British doctors ran out.
Now he has to opt for an alternative provided by the Qatari authorities.
Before his arrest, Manuel’s HIV was being treated with antiretroviral medications that he received during his trips to the United Kingdom and Mexico.
This kept the virus under control and prevented it from being transmitted to other people.
In a letter to the UK Foreign Office, the National Aids Trust called on the British government to intervene.
He explained that by being sporadically denied his medication in prison, Manuel’s body may have already developed a resistance, making the medications less effective.
All of this could have very negative effects and serious implications for your health.
“We need Manuel to have access to treatment, but also to the professional medical expertise of an HIV specialist outside Qatar who will test him and properly assess what his future needs are,” says Daniel Fluskey, policy director at the National Aids Trust.
“They detain and abuse LGBT people”
The BBC learned of Manuel’s case from the human rights organization FairSquare, whose co-director, James Lynch, is a former British diplomat in Qatar.
“He is an LGBT person and was attacked through a dating app. You don’t do that unless it’s what you focus on.”says Lynch, who is supporting Manuel’s family.
To try to verify Manuel’s family’s accusations, the BBC spoke to other human rights experts.
The type of interrogation that Manuel allegedly experienced while in detention has been documented in the past.
A 2022 Human Rights Watch (HRW) report, which interviewed six LGBT Qataris, found that all of them had been asked to hand over information that could identify others like them, and says they had also witnessed or received physical abuse.
Rasha Younes, deputy director of HRW’s LGBT rights programme, told the BBC that Qatari security forces “detain and abuse LGBT people simply because of who they are”, with treatment including slaps, kicks and punches.
It adds that they also “inflict verbal abuse, extract forced confessions and deny detainees access to legal assistance, family and medical care.”
The latest human rights report on Qatar from the US State Department says that in 2023, “LGBTQI+ people faced discrimination under the law and in practice.”
“There were no government efforts to address potential discrimination, nor were there any anti-discrimination laws to protect LGBTQI+ people targeted for their sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression.”
Qatar’s treatment of LGBT people made headlines when the country hosted the FIFA World Cup in 2022.
At that time, Qatari officials assured that “everyone is welcome.”
However, reports frequently emerge of LGBT people being “persecuted and abused” in Qatar, according to Qatari LGBT activist Dr. Nas Mohamed.
Mohamed, who is in asylum in the United States, spoke publicly before the tournament, but remains in contact with many gay Qataris.
“I don’t know if Manuel used drugs or not. But they questioned him for this because he is gay and was persecuted on Grindr”, it states.
Since Manuel’s arrest, Grindr is displaying a warning to users in Qatar that “police are known to be making arrests on the app.”
A Grindr spokesperson says the company is “indignant” for the case of Manuel Aviña, and that he takes his role “as a connector of the queer community” very seriously.
“Tragically, it is still illegal to be gay in more than 60 countries, in many of which Grindr is one of the only ways for members of the LGBTQ+ community to connect with each other,” he adds.
Enrique says it has been a difficult time for his brother Manuel and the entire family.
“When I saw him in prison and found out what had happened to him, It seemed to me like a case from another century.”, says.
He hopes international attention and interventions from organizations like FairSquare will see his older brother treated fairly.
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