Ugandan authorities are facing pressure to free novelist Kakwenza Rukirabashaija, who has been in custody for 10 days, allegedly over his criticism of the president and his son.
Eron Kiiza, Rukirabashaija's defense attorney, said he believes Rukirabashaija is being held by the Special Forces Command, an army unit that protects the first family. The novelist is being detained despite a magistrate ordering Rukirabashaija's release earlier this week.
"They keep moving him around," Kiiza said. "They have defied court orders to release him, of course with impunity."
Police accused Rukirabashaija, who writes satirical fiction, of offensive acts in violation of the law, including the misuse of a computer.
Kiiza said he looked visibly weak and could barely sit down in his bloodied clothes when he last met with the writer.
Kiiza told the Associated Press a series of Rukirabashaija's Twitter posts angered President Yoweri Museveni and his son, Lt. Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, who commands Uganda's infantry forces.
Rukirabashaija's tweets describe Museveni as an "election thief" and refer to Kainerugaba, who hopes to succeed his father as president, as obese and questions how he can be a soldier.
Rukirabashaija, detained since Dec. 28, has been jailed twice before over his work highlighting Museveni's governmental failings since he took office in 1986.
On Dec. 28. Rukirabashaija tweeted, "Gunmen are breaking into my house by force."
Police spokesman Fred Enanga declined to comment on Rukirabashaija's whereabouts, saying it was now a matter for the attorney general's office. It was not immediately possible to get a comment from the Special Forces Command.
Rukirabashaija is the 2021 winner of the PEN Pinter Prize for an international writer of courage. English PEN, a human rights organization for writers, said in a statement that it was "gravely concerned" about the Ugandan author's detention.
The U.S. Embassy in Uganda called for Rukirabashaija's release, saying on Twitter that civil society, human rights defenders, journalists and others "all play critical roles in a democratic society & should be able to carry out their work free of harassment."
In a Twitter post, Idaho Sen. Jim Risch, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the writer's detention is among "new & troubling examples" of Ugandan authorities' efforts to suppress dissent.
At home, Rukirabashaija's case has renewed focus on the alleged excesses of the security forces in enforcing Museveni's authority.
Bobi Wine, a popular activist who challenged Museveni in last year's election, said the security forces must be held accountable for the alleged torture of Rukirabashaija and the mistreatment of civilians.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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