British theatre producer escapes two years in Ugandan jail for gay play
Source: The Guardian
British theatre producer escapes two years in Ugandan jail for gay play
Haroon Siddique and Sam Blackledge
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 2 January 2013 13.23 GMT
A Ugandan court has dismissed the case against a British theatre producer who faced two years in jail for staging a play about homosexuality.
David Cecil was charged with "disobeying lawful orders" from Uganda's media council after performances of the play went ahead despite intervention from the regulators.
The River and the Mountain had provoked controversy, particularly through its suggestion that much homophobic anger and hatred in the country had been whipped up by politicians and religious leaders for their own purposes.
Cecil told the Guardian that a magistrate dismissed the case on Wednesday because, having appeared in court four times since September, the prosecution had failed to disclose any evidence or commit to a trial date. The magistrate returned Cecil's passport and declared that he was free to go, although she added that the case could at any time be re-opened if the state so wished.
[font size=1]
-snip-[/font]
Read more:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jan/02/uganda-british-gay-play-jail