In the last 24 hours Amnesty International supporters in the UK have sent 15,000 messages to the Ugandan president, prime minister and opposition leader demanding the country’s parliament drops a draconian anti-homosexuality bill that would see life sentences, and even the death penalty, handed out.

Sexual conduct between people of the same sex is already a criminal offence in Uganda. But the bill currently going through parliament goes much further. If passed, consensual sexual conduct between people of the same sex could mean life behind bars. The Ugandan parliament is likely to vote on the bill in the next few days.

Previous drafts of the Bill have proposed the death penalty for anyone found guilty of ‘aggravated homosexuality’ – and it is not yet clear whether this has been removed from the bill completely.

Kate Allen, director of Amnesty International UK, said this draconian bill proposes prison and even the death penalty for gay people in Uganda and yet it would allow those who target them – like the killers of gay rights activist David Kato who was murdered in 2011 – literally to get away with murder.

She said:

“The fact that 15,000 people have taken action in 24 hours is testament to the sense of outrage people feel about this bill.”

“The bill must be stopped in its tracks - we are extremely concerned that it will put the law on the side of people like Kato’s murderers, and entrench existing discrimination by legalising and even promoting hate crimes against LGBTI individuals and activists.”

To take action to stop this bill visit www.amnesty.org.uk/uganda