The BBC was originally made aware of Manuel's case by the human rights organisation FairSquare, whose co-director, James Lynch, is a former British diplomat in Qatar.

"This has been about his LGBT status from the start and his desire to express that status and his identity, and that's what this case is about," says Mr Lynch, who is now supporting Manuel's family.

"He's an LGBT person and he was targeted through a dating app. You don't do that, unless that's the thing you are focused on."

To try to verify the family's claims, the BBC has also spoke to several other human rights experts.

The sort of interrogation Manuel allegedly experienced while in detention has been documented in the past. A 2022 Human Rights Watch (HRW) report which interviewed six LGBT Qataris found that all of them had been asked to hand over information that could identify others like them, and says that they had also witnessed or received physical abuse.

Rasha Younes, the deputy director of HRW's LGBT rights programme, has told the BBC that Qatari security forces are "detaining and abusing LGBT people simply for who they are", with ill-treatment including slapping, kicking and punching.

She adds that they also "inflict verbal abuse, extract forced confessions and deny detainees access to legal counsel, family and medical care".

The latest human rights report on Qatar from the US State Department says that in 2023, "LGBTQI+ persons faced discrimination under the law and in practice".

It adds: "There were no government efforts to address potential discrimination, nor were there antidiscrimination laws to protect LGBTQI+ individuals targeted on the basis of their sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression."