The arrest and detainment of a Gay Mexican-British man in Qatar has, once again, highlighted the dangers faced by LGBTQIA+ people living in and traveling to the Gulf States. Manuel Guerrero, 44, was reportedly arrested on February 4 in Qatar, where he has been a resident for 7 years after allegedly messaging a fake profile on Gay dating app Grindr.
According to reports, Guerrero’s brother has called upon the Mexican Government to intervene with a “clear and strong statement that demands the release of Manuel.” Enrique, Manuel’s brother also alleged that Manuel was coerced into signing numerous documents in Arabic, which he could not read and had no access to an interpreter or lawyer, after being subjected to “psychological torture” and being deprived of his HIV medication.
― Brian Whitaker, Unspeakable Love: Gay and Lesbian Life in the Middle East
Also according to Enrique, the former manager at British Airways was forced to denounce other members of the Gay community in Qatar. Manuel, through his brother, also accused the police of planting a quarter gram of methamphetamine in his apartment at the time of his arrest, while not informing either the Mexican or the British embassies in the country of his detainment.
When asked about the case, a British Foreign Office Spokesperson said that the UK is “providing consular assistance to a British man who is detained in Qatar and [we] are supporting his family.” The arrest was also condemned by Amnesty International, with the human rights organization expressing its “deep concern about the detention of Manuel Guerrero in Qatar due to his sexual orientation,” urging the Gulf State to “respect the rights of all people in the LGBTI+ community.”
Timeline of Concern
This is the second time that Qatar has been in the limelight in a little over two years regarding its treatment of LGBTQIA+ individuals. In 2022, US journalist Grant Wahl who was infamously detained while covering the FIFA World Cup for wearing a Pride shirt, died while covering the quarterfinal match between Argentina and the Netherlands. The death of Grant, 48, was believed by his brother to have been caused by Qatari authorities.
“He told me he received death threats. I don’t believe my brother just died. I believe he was killed,” said Eric Wahl in an Instagram video, after revealing that “I’m the reason he wore the rainbow shirt to the World Cup.” Before his death, Grant alleged that he was denied entry into the US opener against Wales at the Ahmed Bin Ali Stadium in Al Rayyan by World Cup security, who demanded that he take the rainbow shirt off. His phone was subsequently confiscated after he tweeted about the incident.
Though Grant Wahl’s death was far more likely caused by Bronchitis, which Grant noted in a newsletter earlier that week had been diagnosed at a clinic at the media center in Qatar, in the lead-up to the 2022 World Cup, many had raised concerns over the safety of LGBTQIA+ fans and players traveling to the Gulf State.
“All This Terror Because of a Photo”
Digital Targeting and Its Offline Consequences for LGBT People in the Middle East and North Africa
Despite the country claiming that all fans would be welcomed to the international sporting event “without discrimination,” a Qatar World Cup ambassador commented that homosexuality was a “damage in the mind.” The fact that consensual same-sex acts are illegal in the Gulf State prompted governments across the world, including Europe to either offer unofficial travel warnings to LGBTQIA+ citizens intending to travel to Qatar or issue outright travel advisories against such individuals traveling to Qatar for fear of arrest and prosecution.
Deputy Chair of the London Assembly and patron of the LGBT+ Conservatives campaign group in the UK, Andrew Boff, who said that some in Qatar have a “medieval attitude to human rights,” urged the UK government to change its travel advice to warn LGBTQIA+ football fans of the risks of going to the World Cup. While emphasizing the need to follow the cultural practices of a host country, Boff also noted “the mere fact that being gay, or lesbian, or trans is illegal in Qatar and will open you to prosecution means it is not a safe place for LGBT+ people to travel to and the government advice should clearly say that,” the BBC reported.
Read More:
- Rights Bulwark: Int’s Campaigners, Organizations Brace for Second Trump Term
- Drinking Ourselves to Death: Alcoholism and the Queer Community
- Pride Flags and Black Eyes: Intimate Partner Violence in Queer Relationships
- Hiding in Plain Sight: What We Have Missed About State-Sponsored Homophobia
- Justice Denied: Steven Kabuye Remains Committed to Human Rights Fight Months After Horrific Attack
One brave German football fan, publicly called Qatar out by proxy through the Qatari Ambassador to Germany at a human rights conference hosted by the German Football Association, and attended by other dignitaries. “I’m a man and I love men. I do – please don’t be shocked – have sex with other men. This is normal. So please get used to it, or stay out of football,” said Dario Minden, who declared that “football is for everyone.”
Speaking to CNN Minden declared that he would neither be watching the football event nor would he be going to Qatar despite personal reassurances to Minden by the Qatari Ambassador that “all are welcome.” Shortly before the 2022 World Cup, Human Rights Watch published a report detailing the mistreatment and harassment of LGBTQIA+ individuals in Qatar, including arbitrary arrests and detentions. “Human Rights Watch documented six cases of severe and repeated beatings and five cases of sexual harassment in police custody between 2019 and 2022. Security forces arrested people in public places based solely on their gender expression and unlawfully searched their phones,” the report read.
Those interviewed by Human Rights Watch said that Preventative Security Department officers detained them in an underground prison in Al Dafneh, Doha, where they were “verbally harassed and subjected detainees to physical abuse, ranging from slapping to kicking and punching until they bled. One woman said she lost consciousness. Security officers also inflicted verbal abuse, extracted forced confessions, and denied detainees access to legal counsel, family, and medical care. All six said that police forced them to sign pledges indicating that they would ‘cease immoral activity’.”
Lure of Love
Beyond the Qatari borders, LGBTQIA+ individuals run the risk of extortion, exposure, arrest, or even death when using online social and dating platforms. In March 2023, Grindr issued a warning to users in Egypt after reports that police were impersonating community members on the app, in an attempt to conduct arrests. “We have been alerted that Egyptian police [are] actively making arrests of gay, bi, and trans people on digital platforms. They are using fake accounts and have also taken over accounts from real community members who have already been arrested and had their phones taken. Please take extra caution online and offline, including with accounts that may have seemed legitimate in the past.”
In February 2023, Human Rights Watch released a report documenting similar incidents of law enforcement in the region using digital platforms to crack down on LGBTQIA+ individuals, including in Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, and Tunisia. Such tactics included harassment, public outings, and detentions based on social media users’ posts on Instagram and Facebook, all actions the report noted had “far-reaching offline consequences.” Due to “their legal precarity offline,” those who are entrapped and arrested under such circumstances have little to no legal recourse and are subject to violence and coercion by the police.
“All This Terror Because of a Photo”
Digital Targeting and Its Offline Consequences for LGBT People in the Middle East and North Africa
The Human Rights Watch investigation also showed that of all the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries, Egypt was the most egregious in its use of this tactic against purported and actual LGBTQIA+ individuals, with 29 arrests and prosecutions including against foreigners.
“Human Rights Watch documented 20 cases of online entrapment on Grindr and Facebook by security forces in Egypt, Iraq, and Jordan. Sixteen of those entrapped were arrested by security forces and subsequently detained. In these cases, security forces apparently targeted LGBT people online for the purposes of arresting them. The immediate offline consequences of entrapment range from arbitrary arrest to torture and other ill-treatment, including sexual assault, in detention,” read the report.
Countries across Africa where same-sex acts are criminalized have also seen an increase in entrapment and entrapment on apps like Grindr, not only by extortionist gangs but also coordinated and orchestrated by police forces.
No new details have emerged from the Manuel Guerrero case, and it is hoped that justice will swiftly be served, with the Qatari government working to remedy the miscarriage of justice and denial of due process.
Photos: Unsplash
Piquing Duck 