COLOMBO, Sept 17 — Sri Lanka today found the former army chief who led the military victory over the Tamil Tiger separatists guilty of misappropriation of funds, which can land him in prison for up to three years.

Sarath Fonseka’s sentence was widely expected after he was stripped of his four-star general rank last month in a similar court martial, which found him guilty of involvement in politics while in uniform.

He had challenged his former commander-in-chief, President Mahinda Rajapaksa, in a bitterly personal campaign and lost in a January election.

He was arrested on February 8 but still won a parliamentary seat in April.

“He was found guilty of all charges,” said Lakshman Hulugalla, the director-general at the government’s Media Centre for National Security.

The state-run Daily News in an SMS news alert said Fonseka (picture) was sentenced for three years by the second court martial.

It was not immediately clear whether Fonseka will be transferred to a civilian prison from military custody at navy headquarters after the president signs the sentence.

Fonseka could lose his parliamentary seat if he is imprisoned for either being found guilty of a penal code offence with a minimum sentence of two years, or for not attending parliament for three consecutive months.

Fonseka had stood side-by-side with Rajapaksa after the defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam after 25 years of war in May last year, but fell out later over what he said was false accusations of planning a coup and being sidelined. — Reuters