Ex-Army Chief released from jail

Ex- Army Chief Sarath Fonseka who was serving a jail term was released from the prison a short while ago.

Thousands of supporters of the Ex-General were present in-front of the Welikada Prison to welcome him.

Fonseka who was spending his time in Jail since the year 2010 played an instrumental role in wiping out the LTTE, a US proscribed terror group.

However, his entry into the political stage in 2010 challenging the incumbent President Mahinda Rajapaksa  reversed his fortunes.

He lost the 2010 Presidential election where he contested as the Common opposition candidate.

However, Fonseka managed to win a parliamentary seat in the general election which was held on the same year.

On September 2010 he was jailed for a period of two and half years subjected to rigorous imprisonment following a Court Martial found him guilty of breaching arms procurement while on active service.

Meanwhile in November 2011, the court jailed him for three years for implicating the government in war crimes.

The court ruled out that he lent credence to allegations the defense secretary ordered Tamil Tigers to be killed as they tried to surrender in May 2009.

However the 3 member bench was divided over the decision with one judge not agreeing with the judgement.

Reacting to the verdict, Fonseka said that he did not accept the judgment.

However during last year, the United States labeled Fonseka a “political prisoner” in its annual Human Rights Report.

Both Washington and the European Union have repeatedly called for his release.

Advertisement