A gay man who was living in Qatar has claimed he was lured to an hotel room where he was gang-raped by law enforcement officers.
“Ali,” who is from the Philippines but was working as an office assistant in Qatar, told how in 2018 he had received a message on a gay dating app from another man, who said he was a Turkish worker.
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The man had offered him a substantial sum of money to come to his hotel room.
Ali decided to go, but when he arrived at the 10th-floor room, he was confronted by six men – who identified themselves as Qatari police.
Homosexuality is illegal in Qatar – usually carrying a penalty of three years in jail, although technically the death penalty can be imposed in some cases.
“I really wanted to jump [out of] the window,” he told the i, “but I can’t, it’s too high and I’m already cornered inside the room.
“They catch me and threw me on the bed. They started to rape me.”
As soon as one policeman had finished assaulting him, he says, another started. “All of them except the Turkish one, he added,” “he watched until they finished. He was laughing at me.”
He says the Qataris then searched his bag, and accused him of being a prostitute. He says he considered jumping out of the window because he was so scared of what the men would do next.
Another gay man arrived during Ali’s ordeal, also lured into the trap. The two were taken to a police station where they were fined 300 Qatari Rial (around £74).
“I slept in the jail for one night and when I woke up, they took me to the deportation centre,” Ali said. “There I waited for two days to receive my passport and ticket to go back to the Philippines. They cancelled all my papers.”
Several other gay men say they have have been “hunted” in the same way by Qatari police.
Nasser Al Khater, CEO of the FIFA World Cup 2022, insisted to CNN that “everyone is welcome,” in Qatar.
“Public display of affection is frowned upon and that goes across the board,” he said. “Qatar is a modest country. That’s all that needs to be respected. Other than that, everyone is free to live their life.”
The foreign secretary, James Cleverly, has ordered gay football fans to “show respect” to Qatar’s culture when attending the World Cup, which kicks off on November 20.
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