Amnesty International expressed concern over the safety...

Amnesty International expressed concern over the safety of 20 prisoners held by the Ugandan army at a military detention facility in the northern town of Gulu. It said the prisoners were "illegally removed" from Gulu Central Prison on September 16, when the Uganda People's Defence Forces (UPDF) raided the prison and rounded up 21 men. According to the Ugandan media, the army said they had learnt that the prisoners were to be "rescued" by Joseph Kony's rebel Lord's Resistance Army which is active in northern Uganda. One of the prisoners was shot and killed when he attempted to escape, Uganda's independent Monitor daily had reported. However, Amnesty said it suspected the killing of the prisoner, Peter Oloya, to have been an "extrajudicial execution" within the prison grounds. Along with another prisoner, he had been arrested and charged with the murder of a local government official, while canvassing votes for the opposition during local government elections in Gulu. "They were both key campaigners for the opposition candidate and it seems that their arrest may be due to political activities during the campaign," Amnesty said.