Police in Uganda have charged 20 LGBT people with disobeying rules on physical distancing and risking the spread of coronavirus, in what campaigners say is a clear case of authorities abusing newly imposed restrictions to target sexual minorities. Fourteen gay men, two bisexual men and four transgender women were taken into custody on Sunday when police raided a shelter on the outskirts of Uganda’s capital, Kampala. Officials denied allegations made by LGBT campaigners that they were targeted because of their sexual orientation. Activists in Uganda said the pandemic had contributed to a rise in homophobic rhetoric in Uganda, with the LGBT community being blamed by some for the disease.
SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN