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Jordanian LGBTQIA activist detained in Beirut has been released

Jordanian LGBTQIA activist detained in Beirut has been released

(Credit: AFP)

BEIRUT – A Jordanian LGBTQIA human rights defender and refugee detained in Beirut in late December has been released. Speaking to L’Orient-Today, an Amnesty International source confirmed that the activist, who was identified by the pseudonym AOA for their safety, was released from detention and has made their way to Australia.

Here’s what we know:

    • AOA was arrested on Dec. 22 in Beirut, just two days before they were set to leave Lebanon for Australia on a humanitarian visa. According to an Amnesty International statement released on Dec. 26, AOA was “paying fees to Lebanese authorities when they were suddenly taken into custody” and told that there was an Interpol Red Notice for their arrest. Amnesty successfully challenged the notice and got it canceled.

    • AOA had escaped their abusive family in Jordan in 2020, first to Turkey before moving to Lebanon. Amnesty believed that AOA’s prominent family in Jordan was a factor in their detention and feared possible involuntary repatriation to Jordan. However, a Jordanian Foreign Ministry spokesperson denied Jordan’s embassy in Beirut had any involvement in their custody, stressing that the diplomatic mission did not receive notice of their arrest or attempt to repatriate them forcefully.

BEIRUT – A Jordanian LGBTQIA human rights defender and refugee detained in Beirut in late December has been released. Speaking to L’Orient-Today, an Amnesty International source confirmed that the activist, who was identified by the pseudonym AOA for their safety, was released from detention and has made their way to Australia.Here’s what we know:    • AOA was arrested on Dec....