Amnesty expresses fears for safety of prisoners

The British-based human rights organisation, Amnesty International, has expressed concern over the safety of 20 prisoners held by the Ugandan army at a military detention facility in the northern town of Gulu. It said the prisoners were "illegally removed" from Gulu Central Prison on 16 September, when the Uganda People's Defence Forces (UPDF) raided the prison and rounded up 21 men. According to the Ugandan media, the army said they had learnt that the prisoners were to be "rescued" by the rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) which is active in northern Uganda. One of the prisoners was shot and killed when he attempted to disarm one of the soldiers and escape, Uganda's independent 'Monitor' daily reported on Thursday. However, Amnesty said it suspected the killing of the prisoner, named as Peter Oloya, to have been an "extrajudicial execution" within the prison grounds. Along with another prisoner, he had been arrested and charged with the murder of a local government official, while canvassing for the opposition during local government elections in Gulu. "They were both key campaigners for the opposition candidate and it seems that their arrest may be due to political activities during the campaign," the Amnesty statement said. "The 20 surviving prisoners are at increased risk of torture or ill-treatment whilst they remain in UPDF custody," it added.