Lankan court martial convicts Fonseka
A court martial has found the former Sri Lankan armed forces chief, Gen Sarath Fonseka, guilty of engaging in politics while on active service.
Gen Fonseka would be stripped of his rank and medals once the government ratified the decision, officials said.
He has been detained by the authorities since shortly after January's presidential election, when he failed to oust President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
Gen Fonseka led the army in its victory last year against the Tamil Tigers.
He was hailed as a war hero by the majority Sinhalese community for bringing an end to 26 years of civil war, which left 100,000 people dead.
On Friday, officials said the general had been found guilty by a three-member panel and sentenced to a dishonourable discharge.
"The guilty verdict was read out to General Fonseka at the court martial a short while ago," a military source told the AFP news agency. "The president as commander-in-chief must now ratify the decision."
A few months after the Tamil Tigers' defeat, Gen Fonseka was promoted from army commander to chief of the defence staff by Mr Rajapaksa.
The two men clashed over who should take credit for the war, however, and Gen Fonseka is said to have seen this as an attempt to sideline him.
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