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Ugandan police raided and forcibly closed the Queer Kampala International Film Festival on December 9, 2017, Human Rights Watch said on Friday.
The festival featured films and documentaries portraying the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, and queer (LGBTIQ) people. Police offered no formal legal basis for forcibly shutting down the festival.
The festival, held for the second year in Kampala, began on December 8. The festival organizer, Kamoga Hassan, told Human Rights Watch that the opening night was successful.
A large audience responded positively to the films, he said, which included stories of LGBTIQ people coming to terms with their identities, fighting discrimination, engaging in activism, and falling in love.
Organizers had hoped the stories shown during the festival would help to educate Ugandans about communities that face discrimination and marginalization in their country.
"The raid on the Queer Kampala International Film Festival is just the latest in a series of attacks on freedoms of expression, association and assembly for all Ugandans, including sexual and gender minorities." said Neela Ghoshal, senior researcher on LGBT rights at Human Rights Watch.
"Ugandans should be able to watch educational films about LGBT people without having to fear the police."
In January 2014, President Museveni signed into law the Anti-Homosexuality Act, which criminalized the undefined "promotion" of homosexuality and led to arrests, evictions, firings, and hate crimes against LGBT people. In August 2014, Uganda's Constitutional Court declared the law null and void.
In 2016, police raided a fashion show organized as part of the annual Pride celebrations – beating and humiliating participants, taking pictures of them without consent, and causing one participant to suffer severe injuries from jumping out of a window to escape police violence.
In August 2017, Lokodo ordered police to shut down all Pride events, stating that "No gay gathering and promotion can be allowed in Uganda," media reports said.
"Human rights organizations have for the past few months been conducting human rights training amongst police officers," said Clare Byarugaba, coordinator of the Equality and Non-discrimination Program at Chapter Four Uganda. "I question the value of these engagements, considering the police service's continued deliberate suppression and violation of the rights of LGBT Ugandans."
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Ugandan police raided and forcibly closed the Queer Kampala International Film Festival on December 9, 2017, Human Rights Watch said on Friday.The festival featured films and documentaries portraying the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, and queer (LGBTIQ) people. Police offered no formal legal basis for forcibly shutting down the festival.
The festival, held for the second year in Kampala, began on December 8. The festival organizer, Kamoga Hassan, told Human Rights Watch that the opening night was successful.
A large audience responded positively to the films, he said, which included stories of LGBTIQ people coming to terms with their identities, fighting discrimination, engaging in activism, and falling in love.
Organizers had hoped the stories shown during the festival would help to educate Ugandans about communities that face discrimination and marginalization in their country.
"The raid on the Queer Kampala International Film Festival is just the latest in a series of attacks on freedoms of expression, association and assembly for all Ugandans, including sexual and gender minorities." said Neela Ghoshal, senior researcher on LGBT rights at Human Rights Watch.
"Ugandans should be able to watch educational films about LGBT people without having to fear the police."In January 2014, President Museveni signed into law the Anti-Homosexuality Act, which criminalized the undefined "promotion" of homosexuality and led to arrests, evictions, firings, and hate crimes against LGBT people. In August 2014, Uganda's Constitutional Court declared the law null and void.
In 2016, police raided a fashion show organized as part of the annual Pride celebrations – beating and humiliating participants, taking pictures of them without consent, and causing one participant to suffer severe injuries from jumping out of a window to escape police violence.In August 2017, Lokodo ordered police to shut down all Pride events, stating that "No gay gathering and promotion can be allowed in Uganda," media reports said.---
"Human rights organizations have for the past few months been conducting human rights training amongst police officers," said Clare Byarugaba, coordinator of the Equality and Non-discrimination Program at Chapter Four Uganda. "I question the value of these engagements, considering the police service's continued deliberate suppression and violation of the rights of LGBT Ugandans."
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