He had fled his country illegally on February 9.

Ugandan writer Kakwenza Rukirabashaija has arrived in Germany, where he is to receive treatment after being "tortured", his lawyer announced on Wednesday February 23.

In Uganda, he was prosecuted for insulting President Yoweri Museveni and his son.

Kakwenza Rukirabashaija "arrived in Germany this morning," lawyer Eron Kiiza told AFP.

"It's a great relief. He can now start taking medication for the treatment of injuries (inflicted) under torture," he added.

Kakwenza Rukirabashaija was arrested on December 28 and later charged with "offensive communication" towards President Yoweri Museveni and his son, General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, in a series of tweets.

He described the general as "obese" and "grouchy" in particular, whom many see as the successor of his father, in power since 1986 and aged 77.

Released on bail on January 26, the 33-year-old writer fled Uganda illegally, crossing the border with Rwanda on foot before reaching another country, kept secret.

His trial was scheduled to begin on March 23.

He claims to have left Uganda to seek treatment for injuries sustained in detention, during which he says he was tortured and possibly poisoned.

"An unknown substance injected"

During an interview on Ugandan television, he showed his back streaked with numerous scars, as well as other marks on several other parts of his body.

"I was injected with an unknown substance six times every six hours and made to take 17 tablets. I don't know if I was poisoned. I don't feel well," he told AFP. AFP in an interview the day after his departure from Uganda.

"I have been diagnosed with damaged kidneys, bruised ribs and post-traumatic stress disorder. I need medical attention outside Uganda," he added.

According to his lawyer, the United Nations refugee agency, the UNHCR, facilitated his arrival in Germany from this secret third country.

The NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW) demanded on February 11 the “unconditional dropping of all charges against the author” and “that all security officials involved in his torture and enforced disappearance be held accountable. ".

According to HRW, the lawsuits against Kakwenza Rukirabashaija illustrate the crackdown, in the name of the “law on the misuse of computers”, against people criticizing the government in the East African country.

Kakwenza Rukirabashaija told HRW that he was taken to Muhoozi Kainerugaba, who asked him to stop writing.

The general denied the claim in a post on Twitter.

"I don't know who this young boy is who is said to have been beaten up! I never heard of him until the media started reporting on him. I never met him, nor spoken with him and have no desire to do so," he wrote.

Growing repression against journalists, lawyers or the opposition

A displayed slayer of power, Kakwenza Rukirabashaija published in 2020 "The Greedy Barbarian" (not translated into French), a critically acclaimed satirical novel which describes an imaginary country plagued by corruption.

In 2021, he received the PEN Pinter Prize, awarded to a persecuted author for having expressed his convictions.

Arrested several times, he claims to have been tortured in the past during interrogations about his work.

He described his time in detention as "inhumane and degrading" in his latest book, "Banana Republic: Where Writing is Treasonous".

Recent years in Uganda have been marked by repression against journalists, the imprisonment of lawyers and the muzzling of opposition leaders.

The EU has called for a "full investigation" into human rights violations in the country, worrying about "the significant increase in information on cases of torture, arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances, harassment and attacks against human rights defenders, members of the opposition" or environmental activists.

With AFP

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