A six-month suspended sentence has been handed to a British-Mexican man who was deported after being apprehended in Qatar during what his family described as a “honeytrap operation” on the gay dating app Grindr.
At a trial in Doha, Manuel Guerrero Aviña, 44, was found guilty of possessing an illicit substance and fined £2,100.
According to his relatives, the police spied on him and Mr. Guerrero Aviña feels that he was singled out for the sting because he is gay.
Human rights group FairSquare called the trial a “travesty of justice,” but Qatari authorities insist that the airline employee’s arrest in February had nothing to do with drug-related offenses.
Mr. Guerrero Aviña has referred to the decision as a violation of human rights and plans to file an appeal.
He stated: “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” .
An airline employee named Mr. Guerrero Aviña stated that he is “taking advice” on his possibilities.
Even if he were to accept the decision, he would not be able to leave the country right away because Qatari prosecutors have up to 30 days to appeal the punishment.
James Lynch, a former British ambassador stationed in Qatar and co-director of the human rights organization FairSquare, called the case a “travesty of justice.”
Although homosexuality is prohibited in Qatar, Mr. Guerrero Aviña’s family claims he had led a regular life there for the previous seven years.
