Ugandan Gay people 'abused by police'

1. Ugandan police harass and physically abuse gay people in custody, a report by a human rights group has said.

   
   
   
   Chapter Four Uganda documented several cases of men suspected of being homosexual having their rectums and genitals intrusively examined.
   Homosexual acts are illegal in Uganda and there are plans to introduce new harsher legislation.
   
   
   Uganda's internal affairs minister said the allegations were not true but his office would look at the findings.
   
   
   Aronda Nyakairima told the BBC that the Ugandan government did not discriminate against anyone.
   
   
   The 27-page report entitled Where Do We Go for Justice? said officers routinely refused to look into cases reported by gay men and lesbians.
   It found several instances when the police instead turned against them because of their sexuality, charging them with crimes such as indecent exposure, sodomy and having sex against the order of nature.
   
   
   People in detention on homosexuality-related charges were also sometimes paraded in front of the media, the report said.
   Uganda is a deeply conservative society where many people oppose gay rights.