A human rights lawyer involved in a case featuring a prominent Ugandan opposition leader has been tortured after he was arrested and detained without trial, according to colleagues who have visited him.
Eron Kiiza was assaulted and arrested by soldiers on 7 January while entering a military courtroom where he was representing Dr Kizza Besigye – a political opponent of President Yoweri Museveni – and his aide Haji Obeid Lutale.
He was convicted of contempt of court and sentenced to nine months’ imprisonment on the same day. He was immediately transferred to Kitalya prison, 34 miles from the capital, Kampala.
Human rights organisations including Amnesty International and the International Federation for Human Rights have called for Kiiza’s immediate release. In a statement, the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders said the sentence “constitutes a violation of international, constitutional and Ugandan domestic law”.
According to Ugandan lawyers Andrew Karamagi and Primah Kwagala, who have worked with Kiiza and visited him in prison, Kiiza showed signs of mental and physical torture. Most parts of his body, particularly joints, knees, nails, knuckles and head, were swollen.
Karamagi said Kiiza was recovering from beatings at the court and in transit to prison. “It is routine that [forces] will beat up arrested people and he was subjected to as much, which explains the pains he was feeling in his chest and lower back, and the bruises I saw when I visited him in prison.”
A deputy spokesperson for Uganda’s armed forces, Lt Col Deo Akiiki, dismissed allegations of torture as “absolute rubbish” and said Kiiza is “very well”. He said Kiiza’s imprisonment did not contravene Ugandan law and that his rights had not been violated.
“Our politicians have gone to the dogs,” he added. “They ride on anything to smear government dirt.”
Reaction to Kiiza’s detention was one of “shock and awe”, said Kwagala, because until last week lawyers had not been beaten, arrested or detained in the course of their work.
“This arrest is testament to the breakdown of rule of law and constitutionalism in Uganda,” she said. “Our constitutional court has barred military courts from handling civilians but this is happening in vain.”
In November Besigye, a political opponent of Museveni, who has been in power for almost 40 years, was abducted in neighbouring Kenya.
He was returned to Uganda and charged with the illegal possession of firearms and with undermining the east African country’s security by a military court, despite being a civilian.
During a court hearing on Monday, treachery, which carries the death penalty, was added to the list of charges.
Besigye’s wife, Winnie Byanyima, the executive director of UNAids, has said the charges against him are politically motivated. His lawyers have rejected the charges as baseless.
Kiiza’s detention comes amid growing restrictions in a year leading up to general elections.
“It’s foreseeable and understandable that repression will simply increase,” said Karamagi. “The situation will get worse.”
