KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — 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 country’s long-time leader by force.

Ugandan opposition figure Kizza Besigye appeared briefly in a civilian court as attorneys tried to secure his freedom.

A Ugandan court charged opposition leader Kizza Besigye with treason over an alleged plot to end President Yoweri Museveni’s four-decade rule of the East African nation.