Veteran Ugandan opposition politician Kizza Besigye has been charged with treason in a civilian court after his controversial case was transferred from a military tribunal.
Treason is a capital offence in Uganda and if found guilty the 68-year-old could be sentenced to death.
He was charged alongside two other suspects, but they did not enter a plea on the grounds that the charges against them could only be heard in a higher court.
Besigye, who has run for president against long-serving leader Yoweri Museveni four times, has been in detention since he was dramatically abducted in Kenya in November and taken back to Uganda to face a military trial.
But a landmark ruling by the Supreme Court last month said that trying civilians in military courts was unconstitutional and ordering all such cases to be transferred.
The move angered President Museveni, who called it “a wrong decision”.
At the start of last week, Besigye had begun a hunger strike over his continued detention.
The charges stem from accusations that he was plotting to remove Museveni from power by force.
Friday was the first time Besigye had appeared before a civilian court for formal charges, after the Supreme Court ruling.
