A retired British man in Uganda facing
trial after police found images of him having sex with another man said he is
terrified, as he faces a possible two-year sentence.
Bernard Randall, 65, pleaded not guilty
last month in a Ugandan court to charges of "trafficking obscene
publications", after his laptop was stolen and films on the computer were
handed to a Ugandan tabloid newspaper that specialises in sordid sex and
celebrity stories.
"It was private images on a private
computer," Randall said, describing his horror at seeing personal
photographs printed in the newspaper.
"If any trafficking was done, it was
by the robbers who took the laptop, and the newspaper for printing them."
Randall was charged along with a Ugandan,
who has also denied far more serious accusations of carrying out "acts of
gross indecency", which could see him jailed for up to seven years if
found guilty.
Homosexuality is a crime in Uganda, and
gay rights activists say they regularly face death threats.
"I was terrified.... I've put
padlocks on the windows, checked all the locks on the doors," Randall
said, adding he had feared vigilante gangs might seek to attack him.
Treated with respect
In 2011, Ugandan gay rights activist David
Kato was bludgeoned to death at his home outside Kampala, drawing worldwide
condemnation.
Kato's death came after a newspaper in the
Ugandan capital published a picture of him in the same issue as a headline
demanding that homosexuals be hanged.
But Randall said that people he had met
had treated him with respect since the case drew public attention.
"Ugandans are very kind people... and
ordinary Ugandans have responded wonderfully - some gay, some not gay - but all
saying 'it is your life to do with it as you want'," he told AFP.
British actor and writer Stephen Fry has
supported the campaign calling for charges to be dropped.
"We want our friend home," he
wrote in a message on Twitter. "Please help to stop his persecution in
Uganda."
Randall is next due to appear in court on
18 November.
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