Manuel Guerrero Aviña, a 44-year-old Mexican-British national, has left Qatar permanently after a harrowing six-month detention that highlighted the severe challenges faced by LGBTQ+ individuals in the Gulf nation.
Guerrero, who had lived in Doha for seven years while working for Qatar Airways, was arrested on Feb. 4 in what his family described as a “honey trap” operation involving dating app Grindr.
On the eve of #IDAHOBIT2024, we rallied at the @FCDOGovUK to show our support for Manuel Guerrero, the British citizen living with HIV arrested in #Qatar.
Thank you to everybody who joined us @QatarFreeManuel and @fairsqprojects to show solidarity! pic.twitter.com/wYKJsoPNzt
— National AIDS Trust (@NAT_AIDS_Trust) May 17, 2024
Guerrero’s arrest by Qatari authorities prompted criticism and protests by Amnesty International and various human rights groups. In May, Guerrero’s brother Enrique Guerrero spoke at a rally to support Guerrero held outside London government offices.
Arrested by Qatar plainclothes security forces after arranging to meet a man via Grindr, the former Mexico City resident was eventually accused of drug possession and other drug-related charges.
His family insisted that the drugs were planted on him by Qatari authorities who had targeted his LGBTQ+ orientation.
Amnesty International, along with other human rights organizations, condemned the proceedings as grossly unfair, noting that Guerrero was held for weeks without charge, denied legal representation and coerced into signing — without the aid of a translator — a confession written in Arabic — a language he does not understand.
His family said he was threatened with physical abuse if he did not sign and that he was placed in solitary confinement and forced to beg for food.
He was also denied essential HIV medication for at least a month, putting his health at significant risk, his family said.
“This case has been a travesty of justice from the moment Manuel was seized,” James Lynch said in an Amnesty International article. Lynch is codirector of FairSquare, a human rights organization focused on the Gulf region.
“Qatar has used this case to stigmatize and criminalize LGBTQ individuals, and Manuel’s treatment in custody was utterly horrific,” he added.
When Qatar hosted the men’s soccer World Cup in 2022 — which was attended by thousands of Mexican fans — the country was roundly criticized for its human rights record.
Human Rights Watch documented six cases of severe and repeated beatings and five cases of sexual harassment in Qatar of individuals who were in police custody between 2019 and 2022 solely based on the individuals’ gender expression.
During his detention, Guerrero’s family in Mexico, along with the Manuel Guerrero Committee, worked tirelessly to secure his freedom, rallying support from both Mexican and British diplomatic channels.
Mexican diplomatic staff in Doha visited Guerrero to provide him with a translator, to facilitate his access to medication and to connect him with a lawyer. He also met with his family in Qatar on Feb. 11 and twice again in March.
On March 5, a demonstration seeking Guerrero’s freedom was held at the British Embassy in Mexico City.
A press release from Mexico’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE) said Guerrero flew to London on Monday, “where he will remain for a few days to complete a medical checkup and then travel to Mexico City.”
From 1998 to 2011, Guerrero worked in Mexico City for American Express, Lufthansa, American Airlines and Aeroméxico before becoming a flight attendant for British Airways, according to his LinkedIn page. He had worked for Qatar Airways at their headquarters in Doha since early 2017.
Mexican and British diplomatic personnel helped him complete the formalities of his release, after which he met with Ambassador Guillermo Ordorica Robles at the Mexican Embassy in Doha.
According to the SRE, Guerrero “expressed his appreciation to the Government of Mexico for the various efforts made during his legal process.”
On Aug. 1, a Qatari judge upheld Guerrero’s six-month suspended sentence and a fine of 10,000 Qatari riyals (52,170 Mexican pesos, or US $2,750) and ordered Guerrero’s deportation.
He had received a sentence in June that gave him the possibility of leaving Qatar after paying a fine.
With reports from Sin Embargo, Quadratin and BBC
