CHARGES AGAINST UGANDAN ACTIVISTS DROPPED

Behind the Mask reports that trespassing charges against three Ugandan activists who allegedly disrupted an international HIV/Aids conference in June have been dropped.

The activists were protesting against the Ugandan government’s refusal to target lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people in its HIV/Aids policies.

The website said that the charges were thrown out of court by the attorney-general on Friday, apparently due to lack of evidence, during a ten minute court appearance.

“We are cautiously pleased for this outcome. But we still ask why the three activists were arrested in the first place. We are greatly concerned at the behaviour of police towards LGBTI activists”, said Cary Johnson, from the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission.

Last month, one of the charged activists, Usaam Auf Mukwaya, was reportedly arrested and tortured by police in the Ugandan capital.

Uganda’s government is notoriously anti-gay and has been accused of arresting and intimidating its gay and lesbian citizens. President Yoweri Museveni has lauded his country-men and women for rejecting homosexuality.

In February, Archbishop Desmond Tutu signed a letter, along with 120 other religious leaders, demanding that the Ugandan government take action to end “verbal assaults and legal attacks of your government on the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LBGT) people.”

Homosexuality is illegal in Uganda, with offenders facing up to five years in prison. Same-sex marriage has also been banned. Various government officials have repeatedly called for a crackdown on LGBT people.