Ashley “Ash” Pria Persaud

The High Court of Uganda awarded damages of UGX 5,000,000 (about US$1,340) to 20 homeless gay, bisexual, and transgender people who had been arbitrarily detained and held without access to their lawyers. Their arrests had occurred in response to complaints about their sexual identities. On June 15, the court ruled that the prison system’s refusal to allow the 20 people access to counsel violated their rights to a fair hearing and to liberty. The 20 people, who were residents of the Children of the Sun Foundation (COSF) shelter, had been detained for over 6 weeks without access to lawyers. Human Rights Watch […]