A gay rights organization in Uganda says 16 men have been detained by the country’s police on suspicion of homosexuality and human trafficking.
Diane Bakuraira of Sexual Minorities Uganda said on Thursday that the men were arrested on Monday outside the capital, Kampala, at a meeting with another rights group.
AP news reports an anonymous police source to have confirmed the arrests, saying the men were detained following a “complaint from the public.”
Activists have alleged increased attacks against LGTB people in Uganda amid efforts by a minister to bring introduce the death penalty for gay sex. The government spokesman has however denied that such plans exist.
Gay sex is illegal in Uganda. The East African country’s penal law provides for life imprisonment for people who engage in it.
