Lankan ex-army chief could face court martial

Colombo: Sri Lanka's defeated presidential candidate General Sarath Fonseka could face a military court on charges of conspiring to overthrow the government and plotting to kill President Mahinda Rajapaksa, a report said on Sunday.

The Rajapaksa-led government, which alleged soon after the presidential poll verdict that the former military chief had plotted to kill the President, has consulted its top legal counsel on trying Fonseka in a court martial.

"A military court is likely to try retired General Sarath Fonseka on several charges of conspiracy," the Sunday Times said quoting an 'authoritative legal source'.

"This new move, as against indicting him under the normal laws of the land, came after the CID (Criminal Investigations Department) consulted Attorney General Mohan Peiris," it said.

The charges would include an attempt to topple the government and assassinate the president, as also those related to the alleged defence deals involving his son-in-law.

CID detectives allege that Fonseka's actions on the main subjects of their inquiry had their origins when he was serving as commander of the Army.

Besides allegations of conspiracy, "this included deals where his son-in-law reportedly benefited by way of large commissions for supplying military ware," it said.

Fonseka, 59, has already denied any wrongdoing and has accused the government of acting to take "revenge" on him.

Fonseka, who was Rajapaksa's military chief during the campaign against the LTTE fell out with the President after the war and mounted an electoral campaign against him.

Fonseka, who was routed by Rajapaksa in a highly polarised election on January 26, has said he would challenge the poll result in the Supreme Court.

The report said CID detectives could also question Fonseka's son-in-law Danuna Tillekeratne in the coming week.

Though it had earlier reported that Fonseka's arrest was "immiment," the paper now said the "new turn of events, arraigning him before a Military Court, has delayed the process".

"However, he was still liable to arrest anytime after the required legal procedures are in place," the newspaper said quoting a source.

As in civil courts, all evidence will be admissible before the military court. However, the conduct of proceedings in a military court would not be open to the media, it said.

CID detectives have already taken into custody 36 persons during the ongoing investigations, according to reports.

Authorities are also likely to question several media persons, who were present at a Colombo hotel during Fonseka's stay there, over the alleged plot by him to stage a coup and assassinate the incumbent President.

Sri Lanka's military spokesperson Brig Udaya Nanayakkara neither denied nor confirmed that moves were underway to try Fonseka in a military court, saying he was not aware of the matter.

"I am unaware," he said, when asked to comment on the newspaper report that said the former military chief could face a court martial for conspiracy charges.