February 8, 2017
Gay Porn Actor Says He was Strip Searched, 'Humiliated' at Israeli Airport
READ TIME: 2 MIN.
A French gay porn actor claims airport officials at Ben Gurion International Airport strip searched and interrogated him because he has a "Muslim-sound name," the Times of Israel reports.
Ibrahim Moreno was heading to perform at a club in Tel Aviv and says he was questioned a number of times by airport officials. The alleged ordeal took two-and-a-half-hours before he was able to clear through customs.
The newspaper points to a Facebook post Moreno, who works for gay porn studio Lucas Entertainment, made Monday, where the adult performer claims to have gone through a similar incident when he returned to Ben Gurion, calling the situation "a nightmare" and that he has been "humiliated."
"Finally at home after a rather dreadful weekend," he reportedly wrote. "I never thought traveling to another country would make me feel like shit."
"Believed the worst would have happened, but no... it was only a sign of what would come later," Moreno, who said he's Christian, reportedly wrote about his time at the airport when he was heading back to France. He says he was singled out because his first name is Ibrahim.
"Today at the Tel Aviv airport back home I have been humiliated, treated me like a terrorist and simply because my name is IBRAHIM, why can not I have a name of Arab origin? I'm GAY, I'm not a MUSLIM, I don't speak any Arabic language, but if I carry a cross that allows me to be judged and humiliated," he adds.
A statement from Israel Airports Authority says security checks at Ben Gurion are "carried out on all travelers leaving the country regardless of their identity, nationality, etc, and in the procedures laid out by the authorized officials.
"Items that are prohibited on flights in hand luggage are confiscated as is the norm all over the world," the statement goes on to read, according Ynet News.
The reports, nor Moreno, mention if U.S. President Donald Trump's controversial travel ban on seven Muslim-majority countries, had a part in his alleged ordeal.
