Manuel was entrapped by local police during a fake Grindr date and is being held in prison without access to critical medical care.
Manuel Guerrero Aviña was arrested in Qatar on February 4, 2024, after being entrapped by local police who created a fake dating profile on Grindr. They lured him into a meeting and detained him. He’s been held in prison ever since.
Manuel’s family and local activists in Mexico say that Manuel has been enduring unfair treatment due to his sexual orientation. He has been threatened, isolated, deprived of food and sufficient water, forced to sign documents in Arabic without a translator, and is being forced to identify other members of the LGBT+ community. Even worse, he has been denied access to antiretroviral medicines he needs to be able to live with HIV, which constitutes an act of torture and puts his life at risk.
This is not an isolated incident. Manuel’s story is a dark reminder of the hunting down and arrests of LGBT+ people taking place in Qatar. This includes a minimum of 20 cases of LGBT Qataris that have faced similar treatment since the summer of 2023.
It’s yet more proof of why we must take action immediately and demand that Qatar guarantee Manuel’s safety, freedom, and immediate access to health care. We should also demand an end for this pattern of hunt and abuse directed towards the LGBT community.
#QatarFreeManuel