They fled oppression in neighboring countries, and now allege they're being beaten, sexually abused, and kept from life-saving medications.

(Above: Ugandan LGBT refugees pose in a protected section of Kakuma refugee camp in northwest Kenya.)

A group of 20 LGBTQ refugees who fled to Kenya to escape abuse in countries including Uganda, Rwanda, and Congo have been imprisoned for over a month, and report suffering abuse at the hands of both prison guards and their fellow prisoners.

The refugees were arrested en masse near the headquarters of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), in an upscale section of the capital, Nairobi. They spent their first full day in prison on February 22, the same day a judge entered a packed courtroom in the city to postpone a ruling on the possible decriminalization of gay sex.

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The country still has a colonial-era law that makes same-sex activity punishable by up to 14 years in prison. The issue is scheduled to be revisited on May 24.

Another African nation, Botswana, was also set to rule on the decriminalization of homosexuality, but it too pushed back the decision. Last week, a judge there said a decision would be handed down on June 11, after a one-day hearing.

Police claim the refugees were creating a public nuisance in Nairobi. They allege the group was trespassing, and that they were defecating in public. In interviews with The Washington Post, five of the refugees said they are facing trumped up charges, and detailed the heinous conditions and abuse under which they said they were living. Officials did not allow The Post to speak with the rest of the imprisoned refugees.

The refugees said they had lice, and that those who were living with HIV were not able to access their antiretroviral treatment. Transgender women are also forced to stay in the men’s prison. One such prisoner, Lutaya Benon, said guards ripped out her earrings, and alleged sexual abuse.

“Everyone in here is horrible to us,” she said. “In the night, some other prisoners have come and forced us to let them touch our penises.”

Another prisoner, Sabam Kimbugwe, said he had at least four teeth knocked out when a guard attacked him.

All 20 of the refugees are said to be carrying identification from UNHCR. Edgar Atuhe, who like Benon fled Uganda, said UNHCR or affiliated organizations had not yet come to check on them. A UNHCR spokeswoman, Yvonne Ndege, said the agency had been in contact “directly and indirectly,” and added that a lawyer had been provided for them from a partner organization.

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The lawyer advised the refugees to plead guilty, “in hopes of trying to get a reduced or lesser punishment,” according to the UNHCR spokeswoman, who noted it would be hard to mount an effective defense against the charges, as they “were committed in public and difficult to deny.”

Atuhe and others said they planned to ignore that advice, however, as they feel they have done nothing wrong.

Ndege said the group is also looking into the allegations of abuse from guards, and added the agency plans to visit with the detainees this week. A tentative court date is set for March 26.

Last year, Kenyan refugees held the first ever Pride event at a refugee camp, but in the aftermath said they feared for their lives, as threatening messages were pinned to notice boards.