FAMILY BREAK: Transgender Qatari princess in hiding in UK
A Qatari princess has been granted asylum in the UK amid fears she will be persecuted for being transgender.
Leaked documents obtained by London’s Sunday Times show that the princess, who is a member of Qatar’s ruling Al Thani family, complained to Britain’s Home Office, or rather the agency responsible for immigration and security, about how difficult life was. her
“I was born a woman, but I always felt like a man. Being gay in Qatar is considered punishable by law and punishable by death,” the princess wrote.
The Gulf state, which currently hosts the FIFA World Cup, bans homosexuality.
Leaked documents show the princess fled during a family trip to London in the summer of 2015 and went into hiding with her friend.
Qatar’s anti-homosexuality laws have been a hot-button issue at this year’s World Cup, where seven European teams were banned from wearing anti-discrimination ‘One Love’ armbands by FIFA. Homosexuality is punishable by up to three years in prison in Qatar. A report by Human Rights Watch published in October found that there were cases in which Qatari authorities arrested LGBT people and subjected them to “mistreatment and detention” without reason.
