British gay man ‘tortured’ in Qatar is almost out of HIV medicine, family says

 

The brother of a gay British man is warning that despite his release from Qatari prison, his brother's detention in the country could be a death sentence.

Forty-four-year-old Manuel Guerrero, who also holds Mexican citizenship, moved to Qatar, where homosexuality is illegal, seven years ago for his work. He was detained on February 4 after being entrapped by law enforcement through a fake Grindr profile and was held in jail for nearly two months.

During that time, Qatari authorities subjected Guerrero to secret nighttime interrogations where they forced him to name other LGBTQ+ people he had relations with, according to his family. After learning of his HIV status, they locked him in solitary confinement and refused to administer his medication.

Guerrero's brother Enrique, who has vocally advocated for his brother's release since his arrest, told The Advocate that Guerrero has since been released from detention facilities, but that he is prohibited from leaving the country, has been suspended from his work, and is running out of his medicine again.

"He's in a difficult situation because he doesn't have work, and Qatar is a very expensive country," he said. "On the other hand, he has a lot of traumatic stress because of the torture he suffered."

Guerrero has less than a month of HIV medication left, which will last until his first hearing on April 22. His "trial" could ultimately take months, said Enrique, who consistently used air quotations around the word to emphasize the illegitimacy of the proceedings.

"The state of Qatar is doing nothing to give him his medicine, so the problem persists," he said. "There will be more months and we don't have enough medicine."

Guerrero went 38 days without a lawyer or translator while he was detained, according to his brother. Even after he was appointed council, Guerrero's attorney was not given access to his case files until Monday — over two months after his initial detention.

As Guerrero is registered as a British resident of Qatar, it is up to the United Kingdom to secure his release from the country. While Enrique said he has met with officials who have been sympathetic to his cause, he believes the government "must be clear to the state of Qatar that this is not allowed."


"We need more support from the U.K. government because we need to repatriate Manuel," he said. "The U.K. government knows that the state of Qatar is doing nothing about his medication. This is a very critical situation and the U.K. government must be more effective and more clear about the life and the health of Manuel."

(advocate.com)