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| David Cecil faces a two-year jail sentence if convicted |
British
theatre producer David Cecil has been released on bail in Uganda, where he was
charged over a play about the condition of gay people.
He was
arrested last Thursday, accused of "disobeying lawful orders",
because the play The River and the Mountain was performed without
authorisation.
Mr Cecil
faces two years in jail if convicted.
The Ugandan
parliament is considering legislation aimed at increasing penalties for
homosexual acts.
The play,
which tells the story of a gay businessman killed by his own employees, was
performed at two theatres in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, last month.
Uganda's
Daily Monitor newspaper reports that the Media Council had warned the play's
backers not to perform it until it had been approved.
Mr Cecil
was freed on bail of 500,000 shillings ($200; £124). He was ordered to
surrender his passport and must report back to court on 18 October.
His lawyer
John Francis Onyango told the AFP news agency that his client was in good
health.
Homosexual
acts are illegal in Uganda and gay people have faced physical attacks and
social rejection.
An anti-gay
bill imposing life sentences on those convicted of homosexual acts was
re-tabled in parliament earlier this year.
It was
first introduced in 2009 but never debated - and the MP backing the legislation
says a clause proposing the death penalty will be dropped.
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