Former Sri Lankan Army chief arrested (Lead)
February 9th, 2010 - 12:04 am ICT by IANSColombo, Feb 8 (IANS) Former Sri Lankan Army chief and defeated presidential poll candidate Sarath Fonseka has been arrested, his family told reporters here Monday.
Fonseka was arrested by the military police, sources said.
Fonseka’s media secretary Senaka de Silva was also arrested, the Daily Mirror of Sri Lanka reported on its website.
Weekend newspapers had speculated that Fonseka would be arrested and hauled before a military court for several allegations against him, including a conspiracy to assassinate Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
He was the main challenger to Rajapaksa in the country’s sixth presidential election Jan 26, in which Rajapaksa defeated him by 1.8 million votes.
Fonseka was a key figure in the government’s military offensive against Tamil Tiger rebels between 2006 and 2009.
He resigned from the military in November 2009 and ran for the presidency as the common candidate of the opposition parties.
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- Sri Lanka's ex-army chief released from jail - May 21, 2012
- Sri Lanka court frees ex-army chief's aides - Sep 25, 2010
- Rajapaksa orders release of jailed ex-army chief - May 20, 2012
- Free Fonseka, Sri Lankan opposition says (Lead) - May 02, 2012
- Sri Lankan ex-army chief gets bail - May 18, 2012
- Former Sri Lankan Army chief arrested - Feb 08, 2010
- Ex-Lanka army chief Fonseka denies incitement charge - May 13, 2010
- Sri Lanka's ex-army commander appears before military court - Mar 16, 2010
- India in touch with Sri Lanka over Fonseka's arrest - Feb 11, 2010
- Canadian Tamils support former Sri Lankan army chief - Oct 09, 2010
- Sri Lanka court frees four co-accused in Fonseka 'conspiracy' case - Sep 25, 2010
Tags: allegations, challenger, daily mirror, de silva, fonseka, mahinda rajapaksa, media secretary, military court, military police, opposition parties, police sources, presidency, presidential election, presidential poll, s media, senaka, sri lankan army, sri lankan president, tamil tiger rebels, weekend newspapers