On December 30, 2025, Dr. Sarah Bireete, a Ugandan human rights lawyer and constitutional governance expert, was arbitrarily arrested and is currently being arbitrarily detained at Luzira Upper Prison Women’s section. On January 2, 2026, she was charged with unlawfully obtaining or disclosing personal data. On the same day, the court decided to adjourn the bail application to January 21, 2026 in order to enable prosecutors to respond. This is despite bail guidelines requiring immediate determination of such requests. Amnesty International calls on the Ugandan authorities to grant her immediate release.
UPDATE: On January 27, Dr. Sarah Bireete was released on bail. While this is good news, her release is conditional. The charges against her have not been dropped so she will be expected to attend court hearings and faces the risk of conviction and imprisonment. As a condition of her bail, she was also banned from leaving the country, having to leave her passport with the court. Please continue to call for her unconditional release!
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PLEASE TAKE ACTION AS SOON AS POSSIBLE UNTIL: June 12, 2026
Dear President Museveni,
I am writing to bring your attention to the case of human rights lawyer Dr. Sarah Bireete who was arbitrarily arrested at her home in Kampala on December 30, 2025. At the time of her arrest, she was neither informed of the reason for the arrest nor presented with an arrest warrant. She was first held at Nateete police station for four days, beyond the 48 hour-limit foreseen by the Constitution, in violation of the prohibition of unlawful detention and fair trial standards. She was then transferred to Luzira Upper Prison Women’s section, where she remains detained pending trial.
On January 2, 2026, Dr. Sarah Bireete was charged at the Buganda Road Court with the offense of ‘Unlawful obtaining or disclosing of personal data.’ The charge appears to be associated with Dr. Sarah Bireete publicly discussing information related to the National Voter’s Register without the consent of the Electoral Commission. It should be noted that the National Voters’ Register is a public document and Dr. Sarah Bireete’s views are protected by her right to freedom of expression. On January 2, 2026, the court’s decision to adjourn her bail hearing to January 21, 2026, violated her constitutional rights, as well as fair trial standards, since national bail guidelines require an immediate determination of requests to be released on bail pending trial.
I urge you to drop the charges against Dr. Sarah Bireete immediately and unconditionally. I also urge you to end the misuse of the criminal justice system, including the bond system that is used by the authorities to keep human rights defenders and government critics in prolonged detention.
Yours sincerely,
[YOUR NAME]
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