An 8-year-old girl has been arrested for committing “lesbianism” in Uganda, it has been reported.

The girl is understood to be in police custody after her neighbour reported her to the police for engaging in “romantic relationships” with other girls. Catherine Wobuyaga, officer at Jinja Police Child Family Protection unit, in the eastern region, confirmed the girl had been arrested, Gay Star News reports.

A neighbour alleged the girl had been spotted “luring” other girls to a nearby farm, whereupon she enacted “various sex acts with her fingers.”

As the girl is a minor, she cannot be named for legal reasons.

Same-sex sexual acts are illegal in Uganda, which has some of the most restrictive anti-LGBT laws in the world.

International human rights activists condemned the alleged arrest. Victor Odero, Amnesty International’s East Africa Campaigner told The Independent: “The girl should be immediately and unconditionally released if she is still in detention. What she needs is protection and respect for her privacy, rather than being treated as a criminal. The state’s responsibility here is to protect the child’s welfare, not to arrest her.”

The penal code criminalising same-sex acts in Uganda dates back to laws passed under colonial British rule. While they initially referred only to acts between men, they have now been extended to also include lesbian and bisexual women.

In February 2014, the laws were extended further so that not only is homosexuality a criminal offence but also “promoting” homosexuality or knowing someone had “committed” a homosexual act and failing to report it to the police.

Signing the bill into law, President Yoweri Museveni said: “No study has shown you can be homosexual by nature. That’s why I have agreed to sign the bill.”

LGBT+ rights around the globe Show all 9 1 /9 LGBT+ rights around the globe LGBT+ rights around the globe Russia Russia’s antipathy towards homosexuality has been well established following the efforts of human rights campaigners. However, while it is legal to be homosexual, LGBT couples are offered no protections from discrimination. They are also actively discriminated against by a 2013 law criminalising LGBT “propaganda” allowing the arrest of numerous Russian LGBT activists. AFP/Getty LGBT+ rights around the globe Brunei Brunei recently introduced a law to make sodomy punishable by stoning to death. It was already illegal and punishable by up to 10 years in prison AFP/Getty LGBT+ rights around the globe Mauritania Men who are found having sex with other men face stoning, while lesbians can be imprisoned, under Sharia law. However, the state has reportedly not executed anyone for this ‘crime’ since 1987 Alamy LGBT+ rights around the globe Sudan Both male and female same-sex sexual activity is illegal under Sudanese law. Men can be executed on their third offence, women on their fourth Getty LGBT+ rights around the globe Saudi Arabia Homosexuality and gender realignment is illegal and punishable by death, imprisonment, whipping and chemical castration Getty LGBT+ rights around the globe Yemen The official position within the country is that there are no gays. LGBT inviduals, if discovered by the government, are likely to face intense pressure. Punishments range from flogging to the death penalty Getty LGBT+ rights around the globe Nigeria Both male and female same-sex sexual activity is illegal and in some northern states punishable with death by stoning. This is not a policy enacted across the entire country, although there is a prevalent anti-LGBT agenda pushed by the government. In 2007 a Pew survey established that 97% of the population felt that homosexuality should not be accepted. It is punishable by 14 years in prison Reuters LGBT+ rights around the globe Somalia Homosexuality was established as a crime in 1888 and under new Somali Penal Code established in 1973 homosexual sex can be punishable by three years in prison. A person can be put to death for being a homosexual Reuters LGBT+ rights around the globe Iraq Although same-sex relationships have been decriminalised, much of the population still suffer from intense discrimination. Additionally, in some of the country over-run by the extremist organisation Isis, LGBT individuals can face death by stoning Getty