“I never thought I would go home”

A British-Mexican man convicted of drug offenses after being detained in Qatar for six months has told BBC News he “never thought I would come home”.

Manuel Guerrero Avina says he was targeted because he is gay and in his first interview since leaving Qatar, he warned LGBT people to “be careful when visiting Qatar” , and said: “What happened to me could happen to anyone.”

In February, he was arrested after using the gay dating app Grindr to arrange a meeting with a man who he later discovered was an undercover police officer.

Rights groups have raised concerns about Manuel’s detention and called his trial “grossly unfair,” but Qatari officials insist he was arrested on drug offences.

The 45-year-old former British Airways employee now wants to focus on returning to work and spending time with his family.

Manuel’s arrest made headlines around the world and his family launched a campaign for his release.

in a Trial starts in Junehe was found guilty of possession of illegal substances and given a six-month suspended sentence, fined £2,100 and deported.

Returning to the UK, he has given his first-hand account for the first time of the 44 days he spent in a Qatar prison and subsequent detention in the country.

“There were many times when I was scared,” Manuel said.

“I thought I would never be able to leave.

“I thought I might get lost in the system.

“I’m really scared.

“I didn’t think I would get home safely.”

Manuel has maintained that police planted drugs in his apartment and said the real reason for his arrest was his sexual orientation.

“I absolutely deny the drug charges,” he told BBC News.

“Throughout the interrogation, all the questions they asked me were about my sexual partners, my sexual orientation, whether I had sex, who I had sex with, etc.

“If this was just a drug case, they would be asking me about drugs.”

Qatar criminalizes homosexuality, rights groups have warned Raised concerns multiple times About the treatment of the LGBT community in the country.

But Manuel said he has lived there for seven years without getting into trouble with police.

“There seems to be an unwritten rule that whatever happens in private is OK,” he said.

“I thought I was being obedient through caution, but when [in public] And follow the rules – but I just want to live a little bit of life at home.

“I think it’s fine as long as it’s not made public.”

BBC News previously reportedOn February 4, Manuel had been messaging a man on the dating apps Grindr and Tinder and invited him to his apartment.

Manuel said that after meeting the man in the lobby of his building, he was confronted by police, who handcuffed him and then searched his apartment, ultimately arresting him.

While in prison, Manuel said he witnessed people being whipped and moved to cramped conditions for refusing to unlock their phones or reveal the names and phone numbers of other LGBT people living in Qatar.

“They tried to force me to confess and unlock my phone – but I couldn’t put others in the gay community at risk,” he said.

“Why should I put others through this pain?”

In a confession written in Arabic and seen by BBC News, Manuel said he was forced to be fingerprinted without the presence of a lawyer or the help of a translator.

We have not been able to independently verify all of his claims.

Many of the allegations about his treatment after his arrest relate to the time he spent behind closed doors with few witnesses.

But the Guerrero Aviña family shared a detailed timeline of events, and previous reports on the treatment of LGBT people and police conduct in Qatar suggest others have had similar experiences.

A Qatari official told BBC News that Manuel was “treated with dignity and respect throughout his detention” and was sentenced “following an investigation and trial.”

He was arrested “for possession of an illegal substance” and “no other factors were taken into account”.

“Mr. Avina and his family have made numerous false accusations in an attempt to gain public sympathy and support for his case,” the official said.

“A person’s beliefs, background or orientation does not shield them from the consequences of the law, especially when facing serious charges related to drug possession.

“Qadda has strict laws on the possession of illegal drugs and the authorities are constantly working to address the issue.

“As Mr Avina himself admits, he has lived in Qatar for seven years without any problems.”

But James Lynch, a former British diplomat in Qatar and co-director of human rights group Fair Square, said the trial was “grossly unfair” and compared it to other cases he had worked on.

“Manuel was clearly targeted because he is LGBT, living in Qatar and living his life,” Lynch said.

“In the past three years we have dealt with several cases where people were arrested and tried without lawyers.

“Qaddaans need to figure out how justice is served in the country.”

Manuel, who has human immunodeficiency virus, has also received support from AIDS charities UK after claiming he was not receiving regular medication to control the virus.

“I had to beg from prison officials every day to try to get my medication,” he said.

“For me, not being able to access medication was a very difficult time because you worry about the impact of the medication on your health, but also it affects your mental health.”

Now back in the UK, Manuel said he is receiving medical care and slowly becoming more able to be his true self.

“It’s not like you see symbols like rainbows or flags everywhere,” he said.

“More importantly, it’s such a great feeling to be able to get back little things that you didn’t realize you had lost until you got them back.

“Like seeing people holding hands on the street, being able to be affectionate with my friends without thinking about how we interact, being able to do that without closing the door.”