This Monday the trial against Mexican-British citizen Manuel Guerrero Aviña, 44 years oldarrested on February 4 in Qatar for being homosexual, a case that is closely followed by different organizations that defend the rights of LGBTIQ+ people in Mexico and Latin America.
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The authorities of that country, in that first hearing, decided to charge Manuel Guerrero with the crime of drug possession. However, his brother Eduardo explained that although it is a “minor crime”, they are totally false accusations with which they would seek to avoid admitting that they arrested him for being gay and living with HIV.
“That is the formal charge (drug possession), they hid the issue of sexual orientation, we already saw it coming, that is why they plant the charge of the gram of methamphetamines. They fabricate a completely plausible version,” commented Enrique Guerrero when pointing out what was a modification of the facts.
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“Qatar will not admit the real reason why it has persecuted and tortured Manuel: his sexual orientation and (living) with HIV. The crime they accuse him of is false,” denounced the #QatarMustFreeManuel collective, made up of LGBTIQ+ groups and the family, in a statement.
Qatar Police arrested the Mexican-British man in Doha, the capital, after going to a date arranged through an application in which the Qatari authorities created a fake profile and arrested him at the time of the meeting.
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He also maintained that The authorities did not have an arrest warrant for Manuel, so they made one just to inspect him..
“Qatar fabricates the charge of drug possession and use against Manuel Guerrero to continue criminalizing him for being gay and living with HIV. They also created an implausible version of the events,” insisted the #QatarMustFreeManuel collective.
Qatar fabricates the charge of drug possession and use against Manuel Guerrero to continue criminalizing him for being gay and living with HIV. They also created an implausible version of events.
At this Monday's hearing, Manuel Guerrero had a translator, who explained to him what is happening with his case and it is the second time that his lawyer intervenes. It should be noted that this is the first time that his defense has access to the case file.
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But now, SRE personnel collaborated with the family at the hearing.
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Guerrero spent almost a month in jail, where he reported that he had to sign papers whose content he did not know, they made him go more than a day without consuming water and he lacked access to his treatment for most of the time because he was a person living with HIV. .
His family believes that The only option that would guarantee the man's well-being is for him to be repatriated to Mexico.
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