Petitioners file Supreme Court appeal over Uganda anti-gay law
They have also accused the judges of 'failing to evaluate the evidence on the court record (and) relying on inadmissible evidence on recruitment of children into homosexuality'.
KAMPALA - A group of 22 people filed an appeal to Uganda's Supreme Court on Monday over controversial anti-gay legislation adopted last year, their lawyer said.
The Constitutional Court on April 3 threw out a challenge by the petitioners to the Anti-Homosexuality Act which is considered one of the toughest such laws in the world.
It imposes penalties of up to life in prison for consensual same-sex relations and contains provisions that make "aggravated homosexuality" an offence punishable by death.
The legislation, and this month's court ruling, have been widely condemned by rights groups at home and abroad as well as by Western powers including the United States.
The appeal by the original petitioners including rights campaigners and lawmakers was filed to the Supreme Court on Monday, their lawyer Nicholas Opiyo told AFP.
The petitioners are "dissatisfied with part of the (April 3) decision," according to the formal notice to appeal, which contains 17 challenges to the original ruling.
In particular, they are contesting the Constitutional Court's determination that the law was not adopted in violation of Uganda's constitution.
They have also accused the judges of "failing to evaluate the evidence on the court record (and) relying on inadmissible evidence on recruitment of children into homosexuality".
Among those appealing are MP Fox Odoi-Oywelowo, a member of President Yoweri Museveni's National Resistance Movement, and prominent human rights defender Frank Mugisha.
The United States, which restricted visas for Ugandan officials and removed Kampala from a key trade pact after the law was adopted last year, warned after the April 3 ruling it will keep taking "appropriate measures".
Museveni's government has rejected concerns over the law, accusing the West of trying to pressure Africa into accepting homosexuality.
And the measures have enjoyed broad support in the conservative, predominantly Christian country.
There has been an anti-gay crackdown by governments in East Africa, which has a history of repression against gay people, often encouraged by conservative Muslims and Christians.