Names of suspected Gays published in Uganda




A Ugandan English-language tabloid, Red Pepper, this morning published a list of the country's alleged 200 top gay individuals under the headline "Exposed!" just a day after Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni signed a sweeping anti-gay bill into law.


"Publishing information about these people certainly puts them at risk in their local communities," said Maria Burnett, Senior Africa Researcher at Human Rights Watch, who has watched the anti-gay political movement in the country spread. "Whether or not we're going to see violence, it's a possible byproduct of this bill and the rhetoric politicians have been churning out."

"We haven't seen the large-scale vigilante mob attacks that have marked the last couple of months in Nigeria, but we are certainly concerned that could be the case," Burnett said.

The list included some well-known names of activists who have criticized the country's anti-gay laws and worked with gay rights organizations in the country, but it also included less well-known people who have never said publicly they were gay, she said.

The well-known Ugandans accused in the report included a Catholic priest, a hip-hop star, and an activist.

The bill signed Monday criminalizes homosexual acts and threatens life in prison for offenders.

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