Ugandan rebels appear in military court; US urges fair trial News
Ugandan rebels appear in military court; US urges fair trial

[JURIST] Kizza Besigye [BBC profile], the president of the opposition Forum for Democratic Change party, appeared in a military court in Uganda [JURIST news archive] on Friday along with 18 others on charges of treason [JURIST report]. Besigye is the top challenger to President Yoweri Museveni in the 2006 election. The US Embassy in Uganda called for the trial to be completed early enough not to affect the election [AP report], and also urged [statement text] Uganda to "examine the basis for the charges against Dr. Besigye and his co-defendants carefully." Besigye's arrest on Monday sparked two days of rioting. BBC News has more.