A gay man from Britain who was jailed in Qatar after being entrapped by the police has finally been permitted to leave by Qatari authorities and has returned to the United Kingdom after months of imprisonment in inhumane conditions.

Manuel Guerrero Aviña, a gay man who has British/Mexican citizenship, was arrested in February 2024 in Qatar, where homosexuality is illegal. Aviña was a former employee of Qatar Air Lines. He was convicted of drug possession in a so-called “honey trap.”

Aviña said he responded to fake messages on Grindr that were actually sent by the police. 

He was lured to a location in Doha, where the profile he was messaging with said would meet other gay men, he says. In Doha, the police were waiting to arrest him. The police say they found methamphetamine in his apartment during the arrest, which Aviña says they planted there.

He was jailed on February 4, and was given a suspended six-month prison term and a fine at Al Sadd Criminal Court in the capital city of Doha in June.  

While jailed, Aviña was deprived of antiretroviral medication that he needs as an HIV-positive man. He was also forced to sign documents pertaining to his imprisonment that were written in Arabic, which he does not speak, without a translator. He said that he was forced to identify which contacts in his phone were his sexual partners, and subjected to “psychological torture.”

Aviña’s family and LGBTQ+ rights advocates around the world launched a campaign for him to return home, which was finally successful this week. 

The X account @QatarFreeManuel announced yesterday, “At this moment Manuel flies free and dignified towards London! We are grateful for the unwavering support in this fight for justice. There is no doubt that ‘solidarity is the tenderness of peoples.’”

A statement posted on the accounts reads, “Manuel and his family thank you for your tireless support in this emblematic struggle against injustice, against homophobia and in favor of human rights for all people. But, as the saying goes, the struggle goes on, it is not over, and it will not end until there is justice for all people. Manuel’s case, and all the cases we have defended, teach us that only organisation, solidarity and courage can change this world and its injustices.”

Aviña himself spoke about his release, saying, “Although I welcome the fact that I can leave the country, I still condemn the unfair trial I have been subjected to and the torture and ill-treatment I endured during my preliminary detention.”

“I urge the UK and Mexican governments to raise concerns with the relevant Qatari authorities about the unfair trial and the violations of due process,” he added.