Family Says Gay Mexican-British Man Arrested In Qatar – A Mexican-British dual national has been arrested in Qatar for being gay, according to his family, which is accusing authorities in the Gulf state of entrapment using a fake dating profile.
Manuel Guerrero, a 44-year-old airline employee, has been detained since February 4 in Qatar, where homosexuality is illegal, his relatives said.
His brother Enrique called on the Mexican government to intervene, saying they needed a “clear and strong statement that demands the release of Manuel Guerrero”.
“It’s not acceptable for a Mexican and British citizen to be imprisoned because of their sexual orientation,” he told AFP.
The Mexican embassy in Doha said in a statement that, because Guerrero was registered as a British resident of Qatar, UK diplomats were responsible for discussions with the Qatari authorities about his case.
Mexico’s foreign ministry 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”.
Britain is “providing consular assistance to a British man who is detained in Qatar and are supporting his family,” a Foreign Office spokesperson said when asked about the case.
There was no immediate comment from the Qatari authorities.
According to his brother, Guerrero accuses the Qatari police of entrapping him using a fake profile on the dating app Grindr.
Guerrero, who has lived in Qatar for seven years, also accuses the police of planting drugs –- a quarter gram of methamphetamine — in his apartment at the time of his arrest, his family said.
While detained Guerrero says that he was forced to report other members of the gay community in Qatar, according his brother, who said that he had visited him twice in prison.
He alleges that he was subjected to “psychological torture” and deprived of his HIV medicine, his brother said.
“He was forced to sign numerous documents in Arabic that he does not understand. He did not have an interpreter or a lawyer. The embassies were never informed by the Qatari government,” Enrique Guerrero said.
Human rights group Amnesty International expressed its “deep concern about the detention of Manuel Guerrero in Qatar due to his sexual orientation.”
In a post on social media platform X, Amnesty urged the Qatari authorities to “respect the rights of all people in the LGBTI+ community.”
