Dar es Salaam, Feb. 21 -- KAMPALA, UGANDA: Ugandan opposition figure Kizza Besigye was charged with treason on Friday in an escalation of legal troubles stemming from allegations he plotted to remove the countrys long-time leader by force.

Besigye, a four-time presidential candidate in the east African country, sat in a wheelchair as he faced the charges in a courtroom in the capital, Kampala. Treason carries the death penalty in Uganda.

Besigye, 68, has been in custody since Nov. 16, when he went missing in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi. Days later, he was presented before a military tribunal in Kampala to face charges over threatening national security.

The Supreme Court stopped his military trial last month, saying court-martial panel...