2006年VOA标准英语-Uganda Lawyers Group, Government, Challeng

By Cathy Majtenyi
Nairobi
01 February 2006

An Uganda Constitutional Court ruling that bars the military from trying opposition¹ presidential candidate Kizza Besigye on terrorism charges is being challenged by the government. The Uganda Law Society has also registered objection to part of the decision.

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Kizza Besigye, right, and his wife, Winnie Byanyima, address a news conference in Kampala (File photo -  January 3, 2006) 
  

Kizza Besigye and 22 others faced terrorism and firearms charges in military court in addition to treason charges in Uganda's civilian² High Court.

Tuesday, the Constitutional Court upheld the Uganda Law Society's petition that it is unconstitutional to hold trials in two courts based on the same facts. Therefore, Besigye and the others will now only face treason charges in High Court.

Ugandan army spokesman Major Felix Kulayigye told VOA Wednesday that the government is challenging the ruling.

"Does it mean that any human being will go and purchase a missile and store it in his house? That is what that court ruling would mean," he said. "In the interest of public order the attorney general must appeal against this and he has already filed in a notice of appeal. If the ruling of the Constitutional Court yesterday is sustained, it would imply that terrorism suspects in future will only be tried in the civilian courts, not in a court martial³."

In an earlier interview, Major Kulayigye told VOA the charges lodged⁴ against the presidential candidate are sufficiently⁵ different to merit trials in two separate courts, and that civilians⁶ can face a court martial if they are charged with terrorism or illegal possession of firearms.

While the Uganda Law Society is pleased that Besigye and the others will not have to face a court martial, the body is also challenging the Constitutional Court's ruling because of a provision that says military court is equal to High Court.

This overturns a 2003 ruling that military court is subordinate to the High Court.

Defense⁷ lawyer Sam Njuba tells VOA the High Court should act as a check-and-balance against military court.

"High Court can give an order to that court. But if they are on the same level, then you cannot. And much worse than that, you can be taken to either court," he said.

About two weeks ago, Human Rights Watch released a report concerning Besigye's military trial.

The spokesman for Human Rights Watch's Brussels office, Lance Lattig, told VOA that, under international human rights law, military courts can only hear the cases of military personnel for military offenses⁸.

"In general, civilian courts offer broader protections for defendants⁹ than military tribunals would, because military tribunals have exceptional rules dealing¹⁰ with the conduct of military personnel in an armed conflict, for example," he said. "There is no reason why these defendants should be tried under a military tribunal."

Among the charges against Besigye and his supporters is for supporting a rebel group to overthrow¹¹ the government.

Presidential candidate Besigye is leader of the Forum¹² for Democratic Change party. He returned to Uganda last October after more than four years in exile, only to be arrested the following month and charged with rape¹³ and treason in High Court and terrorism and illegal possession of firearms in a military court. He was jailed and then released at the beginning of January.

It is widely believed that the various charges are politically motivated, designed to prevent Besigye from campaigning fully¹⁴ and to ruin his reputation.

1 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

2 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

3 martial   

adj.战争的，军事的，尚武的，威武的

参考例句：

• The sound of martial music is always inspiring.军乐声总是鼓舞人心的。
• The officer was convicted of desertion at a court martial.这名军官在军事法庭上被判犯了擅离职守罪。

4 lodged   

v.存放( lodge的过去式和过去分词 )；暂住；埋入；（权利、权威等）归属

参考例句：

• The certificate will have to be lodged at the registry. 证书必须存放在登记处。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Our neighbours lodged a complaint against us with the police. 我们的邻居向警方控告我们。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 sufficiently   

adv.足够地，充分地

参考例句：

• It turned out he had not insured the house sufficiently.原来他没有给房屋投足保险。
• The new policy was sufficiently elastic to accommodate both views.新政策充分灵活地适用两种观点。

6 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

7 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

8 offenses   

n.进攻( offense的名词复数 )；（球队的）前锋；进攻方法；攻势

参考例句：

• It's wrong of you to take the child to task for such trifling offenses. 因这类小毛病责备那孩子是你的不对。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Thus, Congress cannot remove an executive official except for impeachable offenses. 因此，除非有可弹劾的行为，否则国会不能罢免行政官员。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法

9 defendants   

被告( defendant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The courts heard that the six defendants had been coerced into making a confession. 法官审判时发现6位被告人曾被迫承认罪行。
• As in courts, the defendants are represented by legal counsel. 与法院相同，被告有辩护律师作为代表。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

10 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

11 overthrow   

v.推翻，打倒，颠覆；n.推翻，瓦解，颠覆

参考例句：

• After the overthrow of the government,the country was in chaos.政府被推翻后，这个国家处于混乱中。
• The overthrow of his plans left him much discouraged.他的计划的失败使得他很气馁。

12 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

13 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

14 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。