Death threats sent to man with HIV

Bavarian police have opened an investigation into a HIV-positive German man after he received death threats from neighbours and was refused a bank loan “for his own good”.

The gay man, who has not been named, moved back with his partner last year to his Bavarian home town of Freyung-Grafenau, north of Passau.

After a decade in the gastronomy trade, the couple planned to open a restaurant in the village. Initial talks with their local bank went well, and the couple found a premises and signed a lease. Then the bank rejected their business plan and reportedly said the man’s loan application was being rejected “for his own good”.

The bank manager told the man he would one day be grateful for the bank’s decision.

Daily medication

HIV-positive for six years, the Bavarian man takes daily medication that has left the virus dormant and infection level minimal. Three weeks ago, he got an anonymous letter saying “Aids kills” and warning that no one in the village wanted anyone like him around, spreading a “creeping infection”. After further letters, a local newspaper reporter called the couple’s home to gather details for an obituary.

The journalist said a death notice had already been placed. The man has filed charges with the police and assumes the perpetrator is among his circle of friends: the photo on the notice came from the man’s Facebook profile.

A local lawyer has offered to challenge the bank’s loan decision. However the man told the Süddeutsche Zeitung he had given up on the restaurant idea but refused to leave his home. “I feel well here, even under these conditions. It’s still my home.”