An award-winning Ugandan author who fled his country after being charged with insulting President Yoweri Museveni has arrived in Germany along with this son to seek medical treatment after being “tortured” in jail, according to his lawyer. The novelist was jailed in December and later charged with “offensive communication” in a case that has raised international concern. The European Union was among those calling for a “comprehensive investigation” into rights abuses in Uganda.
Rukirabashaija, 33, slipped out of Uganda two weeks ago— – after a court denied his application to have his passport returned— – ahead of a criminal trial that was due to begin on Wednesday. He said he was tortured in custody and appeared on television earlier this month to reveal painful-looking welts crisscrossing his back and scars on other parts of his body. The charges against Rukirabashaija relate to unflattering comments on Twitter about Museveni, who has ruled Uganda since 1986, and his powerful son Muhoozi Kainerugaba. Uganda has witnessed a series of crackdowns aimed at stamping out dissent, with journalists attacked, lawyers jailed, election monitors prosecuted, and opposition leaders violently muzzled.
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