The East Africa Law Society has spoken out against lawyer Eron Kiiza's jail time. They want him freed right away. Military officers grabbed Kiiza on January 2, 2025, at their court. These officers gave him nine months behind bars without letting him speak up for himself.
Kiiza had come to help Dr. Kizza Besigye and his friend, Hajj Obeid utile Kamulegeya, with their case. The military court said Kiiza disrespected them because he wouldn't sit in the back rows. Before this, Kiiza always sat up front, where he argued with the judge many times.
The Uganda Supreme Court decided on January 31 that military courts can't try regular people. Yet Kiiza stayed locked up anyway. His lawyers asked the High Court to make the prison show Kiiza through a habeas corpus motion. The court said no to this request.
His team then tried for bail instead. At his latest court date, they pushed his bail hearing back to April 4. The group that brings together lawyers from East Africa has blasted how Kiiza keeps sitting in jail. The head of this bar group, Ramadhan Abubakar, said Kiiza just did his job as a lawyer.
Abubakar called it an attack on law itself, a break from human rights rules, and a direct hit against the legal world. He wants Kiiza let out fast with no strings attached, military courts to stop trying civilians, and people who hurt Kiiza held responsible.
Abubakar made these comments after his team checked on Kiiza at Kitalya prison. They found that he had lost lots of weight and had bruises all over his arms and legs. Kiiza told them soldiers beat him up before sending him to prison. All this happened because he bravely spoke against trying regular people in military courts.
Abubakar listed ways Uganda breaks its promises under world agreements. These include rules against holding people without reason, making sure trials stay fair, letting people speak freely, stopping torture, and keeping people's freedom safe. Uganda agreed to all these when it signed major international deals.
The East Africa Law Society stands firmly behind Kiiza and other Ugandan lawyers. They demand five things: free Kiiza fast from Kitalya Prison; stop military trials for regular people; look into who beat up Kiiza; protect lawyers from threats; fix Kiiza's appeal case quickly and fairly.
Kiiza had come to help Dr. Kizza Besigye and his friend, Hajj Obeid utile Kamulegeya, with their case. The military court said Kiiza disrespected them because he wouldn't sit in the back rows. Before this, Kiiza always sat up front, where he argued with the judge many times.
The Uganda Supreme Court decided on January 31 that military courts can't try regular people. Yet Kiiza stayed locked up anyway. His lawyers asked the High Court to make the prison show Kiiza through a habeas corpus motion. The court said no to this request.
His team then tried for bail instead. At his latest court date, they pushed his bail hearing back to April 4. The group that brings together lawyers from East Africa has blasted how Kiiza keeps sitting in jail. The head of this bar group, Ramadhan Abubakar, said Kiiza just did his job as a lawyer.
Abubakar called it an attack on law itself, a break from human rights rules, and a direct hit against the legal world. He wants Kiiza let out fast with no strings attached, military courts to stop trying civilians, and people who hurt Kiiza held responsible.
Abubakar made these comments after his team checked on Kiiza at Kitalya prison. They found that he had lost lots of weight and had bruises all over his arms and legs. Kiiza told them soldiers beat him up before sending him to prison. All this happened because he bravely spoke against trying regular people in military courts.
Abubakar listed ways Uganda breaks its promises under world agreements. These include rules against holding people without reason, making sure trials stay fair, letting people speak freely, stopping torture, and keeping people's freedom safe. Uganda agreed to all these when it signed major international deals.
The East Africa Law Society stands firmly behind Kiiza and other Ugandan lawyers. They demand five things: free Kiiza fast from Kitalya Prison; stop military trials for regular people; look into who beat up Kiiza; protect lawyers from threats; fix Kiiza's appeal case quickly and fairly.
