Uganda ? Ugandan judges went on a nationwide strike Monday, saying their independence had been compromised by police who stormed the High Court and re-arrested opposition supporters who had been granted bail.

Opposition leader Kizza Besigye led hundreds of people in a procession to the High Court to support the strike by the country’s 350 judicial officers. Police broke up the procession using tear gas.

Police officers stormed the High Court last week and took custody of six men who had been arrested in 2005 alongside Besigye and charged with plotting a rebellion. The men had just been granted bail.

Besigye was released on bail in January.

“We are protesting because the sanctity and independence of the judiciary in Uganda has been compromised,” Elias Kisawuzi, the judiciary’s spokesman, said.

“Besigye should stop provoking us,” police spokesman Edward Ochom said. “He knows that rallies and demonstration are not allowed in the city center.”