The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has allowed a same-sex couple’s lawsuit against Lufthansa Airlines to move forward, after the pair alleged that airline employees effectively “outed” them to Saudi authorities, putting their lives at risk.
Filed in 2021 by John Doe, a U.S. citizen, and Robert Roe, a Saudi national, the lawsuit accuses Lufthansa of publicly disclosing private facts, breaching its contract, and negligently causing the couple emotional and financial harm.
In 2024, a district judge dismissed the case, ruling that although Lufthansa operates in California, Doe and Roe “failed to show that their claims arise out of or relate to [Lufthansa’s] activities in California.” The 9th Circuit reversed that decision, clearing the way for the couple’s lawsuit to proceed.
Doe and Roe say they maintained a “committed but discreet” relationship for 33 years and were married in California in 2013. The couple lived primarily in Saudi Arabia but traveled often to San Francisco.
Because homosexuality is criminalized in Saudi Arabia, the couple kept their relationship and sexual orientation “a secret from the government, strangers, employers, friends, and family alike,” according to the lawsuit.
In May 2021, the couple sought to return to California after being unable to travel during COVID-19 restrictions. They believed their legal U.S. marriage would permit Roe to enter the United States despite strict limits on foreign travelers. Trusting that a Western airline would respect their privacy, they booked a flight with Lufthansa.
According to the lawsuit, when the couple arrived at Riyadh Airport to check in, a Lufthansa agent requested that Roe provide his familial relationship to Doe that would allow him to travel to the United States.
They asked to speak with the airport’s senior Lufthansa official, Deputy Station Chief Iqbal Jamshed, who allegedly grew loud and hostile, declaring disbelief that the men were married. Even after seeing their marriage certificate, he continued to question and demean them within earshot of others, reports the air travel site One Mile at a Time.
The men were taken to Lufthansa’s airport office, where staff copied their passports and marriage certificate to send to the airline’s headquarters in Germany. Doe and Roe warned that the Saudi government might intercept the transmission, but their concerns were ignored. They were eventually allowed to board, shaken by the ordeal.
After boarding their flight from Riyadh, the couple tried to limit the fallout from Lufthansa’s disclosures but were unable to file a formal complaint with airline staff in Frankfurt, where they had a connecting flight, or upon arrival in San Francisco.
Although Lufthansa staff told the couple their transmitted information had been “destroyed,” Roe discovered a month later that his Saudi government profile had been updated from “single” to “married,” revealing that officials were now aware of the couple’s relationship.
The couple alleges that “there is no conceivable way the Saudi Arabian government could have learned about Plaintiffs’ marriage other than as a result of the incident” at the Riyadh airport.
Aware that homosexual acts are punishable by death in Saudi Arabia, Roe has not returned home, remaining instead in the United States — first on a visa and later on a provisional green card, obtained in 2023, for permanent residency. Doe and Roe claim that U.S. consulate officials “unanimously concurred” that Roe’s safety cannot be guaranteed if he returns to Saudi Arabia. He has not seen his family, who live there and are unaware of his sexuality, since leaving in 2021.
Unable to return to Saudi Arabia, Roe says he was forced to sell off real estate holdings there, suffering a $300,000 loss. He claims to have developed pulmonary fibrosis, a terminal illness, brought on by the stress of abandoning his former life and the fear of what might await him if forced to return — from the revocation of his passport to life imprisonment or even death — as well as concern for family members who could face harassment because of their ties to him.
While Doe, as a U.S. citizen, faces less danger of severe punishment, he fears that being identified as gay and married could cost him his job, subject him to public shame, or even result in deportation from Saudi Arabia, reports LGBTQ Nation.
It remains unclear how the couple’s lawsuit will be resolved or whether Lufthansa will ultimately be held liable for the harm Doe and Roe say they suffered as a result of being “outed” by airline staff.
A Lufthansa spokesperson told LGBTQ Nation that the airline declined to comment “due to ongoing litigation.”
The Minnesota Supreme Court has ruled that USA Powerlifting discriminated against a transgender woman by barring her from competition, while sending part of the case back to a lower court for further review.
JayCee Cooper, the transgender athlete at the center of the case, was denied entry into two women's competitions in 2018. At the time, she was taking hormone therapy to lower her testosterone levels and applied for a medical exemption, since the drug was banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency. That exemption request revealed her transgender status to USA Powerlifting, which then refused to let her compete.
Lesbian comedian Jessica Kirson has publicly apologized for performing at the Riyadh Comedy Festival in Saudi Arabia, saying she has since donated her entire performance fee.
Part of Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 plan to position the kingdom as a global cultural and entertainment hub, the festival drew widespread condemnation from fellow comedians and human rights organizations.
Kirson said she initially viewed the invitation as a chance to give voice to those repressed in the region.
"I'd like to express my sincere regret for having performed under a government that continues to violate fundamental human rights," she wrote in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter. "I requested a guarantee that I could be openly out as a lesbian on stage and perform gay material. I hoped that this could help LGBTQ+ people in Saudi Arabia feel seen and valued."
A majority of the Supreme Court appeared poised to overturn Colorado's ban on licensed counselors attempting to change the sexual orientation or gender identity of minors, after 90 minutes of oral arguments on October 7. The decision could upend similar conversion therapy bans in 23 states and the District of Columbia.
Conversion therapy attempts to change a person's same-sex attraction or gender dysphoria by teaching patients to suppress their impulses or modify behavior to fit traditional notions of gender and sexuality. The practice is often wrongly described as "curing" a person of same-sex attraction or gender dysphoria -- when even many practitioners admit they cannot eliminate such feelings, only offer ways to manage or resist them.
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