The former Sri Lankan army chief faced a court martial yesterday that could see the opposition leader jailed for up to five years if convicted on charges supporters say are politically motivated.
A three-member panel of two-star generals has been named to try Sarath Fonseka, who is charged making irregular procurements and engaging in politics while he was still the commander of the army.
“The members of the court martial assembled at the navy headquarters for the hearing,” an official source said. “General Fonseka’s lawyers are also there.”
Fonseka faces two charges relating to politics and military procurement rules and they will be heard separately by the same panel which will sit behind closed doors, a defense source said.
“There will be about 35 witnesses and the process can take a few weeks, if not months,” said the source, who declined to be named. “On conviction he could face a jail term ranging from two to five years.”
Fonseka, who was arrested by the military on Feb. 8, two weeks after he lost a presidential election to incumbent Mahinda Rajapakse, has described the proceedings as part of a political vendetta against him.
He and Rajapakse, once allies who ended the country’s 37-year civil war last year, are now bitter enemies after their political fight.
Supporters say the detention and prosecution of Fonseka are designed to disrupt his campaign for April 8 parliamentary elections, which Rajapakse is expected to win.
The 59-year-old retired general has refused to cooperate with military investigators, which is being held in the tightly guarded naval headquarters in Colombo.
It was unclear if he would be there in person for the proceedings. Reporters will not be given access to the military hearing at navy headquarters in the capital.
Fonseka was arrested after senior government figures declared that he was planning a military coup and had conspired to assassinate the president, but none of these more serious charges has been brought against him.
Rajapakse has been accused by political opponents and international human rights groups of suppressing dissent and tightening his grip on the opposition and media since his resounding re-election in January.
Yesterday’s court martial was the first against an army chief in Sri Lanka, which in 1962 faced an abortive coup. All 11 suspects in the 1962 coup were freed by a higher court, which ruled that they had been denied a fair trial.
Sri Lanka’s former chief justice, Sarath Silva, on Monday accused the government of violating the constitution by prosecuting Fonseka under military law instead of using the normal legal system which allows open hearings.
Fonseka has challenged his arrest in the Supreme Court, which has fixed a hearing for April 26.
“I don’t understand why the Supreme Court is taking so long to hear the case, but it has the power to override any findings of the court martial,” Silva told reporters in Colombo.
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