Nairobi - Uganda said
on Thursday it had arrested 16 LGBT+ activists on suspicion of
gay sex - punishable with life in jail - in what campaigners
called an escalating campaign against sexual minorities in the
east African nation.
The 16 men, believed to be aged from 22 to 35, were taken
into custody late on Monday at the office of a sexual health
charity where they all worked and lived, fellow activists said.
It was not clear if the men had been formally charged or
when they might appear in court.
A police spokesman said officers had found lubricants,
condoms and anti-retroviral drugs at the charity, and had
conducted anal examinations on all 16.
"Based on the medical examination report, it was established
that the suspects were involved in sexual acts punishable under
the penal code," police spokesman Patrick Onyango told the
Thomson Reuters Foundation.
Fred Enanga, Uganda's national police spokesman, said the
state attorney was considering the case before any court
appearance.
Gay sex carries a possible life sentence in Uganda, one of
the most difficult countries in Africa to be a sexual minority
with increasingly violent confrontation over sexual freedom.
Members of the LGBT+ community say they risk physical
attacks in their daily life and routinely encounter harassment,
as well as facing prejudice over work, housing and health care.
Campaigners have reported a spate of attacks this year -
including four murders - with the latest on Oct. 4 when a gay
rights activist was bludgeoned to death.
Police say they know of no such attacks.
Earlier this month, a minister proposed introducing the
death penalty for gay sex, a threat retracted by the government
after international donors condemned the move.
Activists said the raid was a new step-up by police.
"Normally we will hear of maybe one arrest of someone from
the community under these anti-gay laws in one month, but it is
really unusual to see 16 people charged like this," said Frank
Mugisha, executive director of Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG).
"The 16 activists have been held by police for over 48
hours, forced to undergo anal examinations. We are expecting
them to be produced before court today."
The men all worked for a charity called "Lets Walk Uganda",
whose offices are on the outskirts of the capital Kampala.
They were initially taken into "protective custody" after a
crowd yelling homophobic slogans surrounded their office, rights
groups said. Police said the group was detained after they were
alerted to "illegal activities" by the community.
Under the penal code, any person who has "carnal knowledge
against the order of nature" - gay sex - or anyone who accedes
to anal sex is liable to life imprisonment.
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