The Ugandan authorities should drop charges against dozens of people arrested over the last month in Kampala, the capital, on the basis of their presumed sexual orientation or gender identity, Human Rights Watch said today. The police carried out two mass arrests on spurious grounds, abused the detainees, and forced at least 16 to undergo anal examinations. Such examinations violate their right to bodily integrity and freedom from torture and ill treatment. “Whether it’s arresting victims threatened by a mob or rounding up revelers at a bar on trumped-up drug charges, Ugandan police are stooping to new lows in their persecution of people for being LGBT,” said Neela Ghoshal, senior LGBT rights researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Ugandan police should be protecting people, not violating their rights because of their presumed sexuality or gender identity.”