Just two weeks before the start of the World Cup in Qatar, a Filipino worker who worked in Doha said security forces for the tiny oil-rich Gulf country’s homophobic regime allegedly entrapped and raped him in a Doha hotel.
The British news outlet the i first reported on November 2 that Ali, the Filipino office worker in Doha, decided to go public with his allegations that in 2018 he was gang raped in a hotel.
The alleged gang rape of Ali by Qatar’s security forces has been widely covered over the last few days in the LGTBQ+ media and in the British press.
Alit told The i that he had scheduled a sexual encounter with a Turkish man who offered him 70 Euro.
“But the condition was I had to go to his hotel, and he would bring a dress and makeup [for me to wear],” Ali said, adding that he decided to go.
“When I saw the hotel, I entered inside. It was the tenth floor. I opened the door, and I went inside. There are six people.”
The six people turned out to be Qatar police.
“I really wanted to jump [out] the window but I can’t, it’s too high and I’m already cornered inside the room.”
Ali
“They catch me and threw me on the bed. They started to rape me. All of them except the Turkish [man] – he watched until they finished. He was laughing at me.”
Qatar's hosting of the Word Cup is controversial because of its anti-LGBTQ+ record. Qatar is one of the world’s most dangerous countries for LGBTQ+ people with Qatar’s monarchy imposing the death penalty for homosexuality.
Ali, who is using an alias to protect his identity, told The i that he never engaged in sex work before but wished to send additional money home to support his family.
One police official allegedly slapped Ali who was weeping after he was raped.
“I slept in the jail for one night and when I woke up, they took me to the deportation center," he said. "There, I waited for two days to receive my passport and ticket to go back to the Philippines. They canceled all my papers.”
“Far from being a one-off, Ali’s experiences form part of a much wider picture, hidden from view," The i wrote. "Qatar’s laws criminalize LGBTQ people. All extra-marital relations in this near absolute monarchy are illegal.”
Qatar’s regime declined to respond to The i report.
Qatar arrests LGBTQ+ rights activist
The BBC reported last month that the prominent LGBTQ+ activist Peter Tatchell said he was arrested in Doha for protesting Qatar’s persecution of LGBTQ+ people.
"I did this protest to highlight Qatar's abuse of LGBTQ+, women's and migrant workers' rights. I was standing in solidarity with brave Qatari human rights defenders who cannot make their voices heard because of the risk of arrest, jail and torture. I am heading back to the airport with my colleague now," Tatchell said.
According to the BBC, Tatchell stood outside the National Museum of Qatar with a placard stating: "Qatar arrests, jails & subjects LGBTQ+ [people] to 'conversion' ", with the hashtag "#QatarAntiGay."
After Qatar's regime stopped Tatchell's protest and arrested him, he said "eventually we were told very clearly it was in our interest to leave the country as soon as convenient."
The Jerusalem Post previously reported that a media adviser to Qatar's regime called homosexuality "sinful" and "unnatural."