A 20-year-old boy has been charged in Uganda with “serious homosexuality” – which could mean the death penalty for the young man. Due to the controversial anti-LGBTQ law introduced this year, this could be a capital offense in the African country.
The man was taken into custody in Soroti, in the east of the country, a spokeswoman for the Public Prosecution Service said on Monday.
He is charged with “having an illicit sexual relationship with (…) a 41-year-old adult male,” according to the indictment, which AFP news agency was able to see. Despite strong international protests, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni signed a controversial law in late May that provides for life sentences for “homosexual acts”.
According to the law, calling yourself gay is not a crime. ‘Participation in homosexual acts’ is a crime punishable by life imprisonment.
Death penalty possible, but not applied for a long time
Contrary to the president’s demand, Parliament also insisted on making cases of “serious homosexuality” a capital crime. This means that repeat offenders can be punished with death. The death penalty is enshrined in the Ugandan constitution, but has not been applied for years.
The new law had sparked outrage at the United Nations, human rights organizations and in many Western countries. In early August, the World Bank declared it would no longer provide loans to Uganda because the law is “fundamentally inconsistent with World Bank values.”
International critique of controversial law
US President Joe Biden described the anti-LGBTQ law as a “serious violation” of human rights and threatened to cut aid and investment in Uganda. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell also called the law a “human rights violation”.
Source: Krone
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