Three-year jail term for Sarath Fonseka

COLOMBO - A military court here Friday sentenced former Sri Lankan Army chief Sarath Fonseka to three years in prison for corruption, Xinhua reported.

He was tried for corruption during his tenure as chief of a military tender board. This was the second court martial faced by Fonseka.

According to media reports, he was charged with favouring a company owned by his son-in-law, who is also an accused in a separate case filed in the high court on the same charges.

In the first court martial last month, the court ruled that Fonseka had indulged in politics while still in the army and stripped him of all his general’s rank and medals won during military service.

Fonseka Wednesday said he was prepared to go to jail as he was brought to court to be present at the hearing of the election petition filed by him.

Fonseka challenged incumbent Mahinda Rajapaksa in the January presidential election and lost by nearly 60 percent of the vote.

He accused the of a political witch hunt by framing charges against him.