Sri Lanka's Supreme Court to hear former Army Commander's appeal against verdict

The Supreme Court of Sri Lanka is to hear the appeal filed by former Army Commander Sarath Fonseka against the verdict of the controversial "white flag" case delivered by the Colombo High Court.
The appeal is to be taken up by a five-judge bench. The appeal has sought reprieve for Fonseka against the High Court verdict of a three year jail term. The 35-page petition was handed over to courts by Fonseka's wife, Anoma Fonseka on December 1, 2011. A three-member trial-at-bar of the Colombo High Court on November 18th found Fonseka guilty of one out of three charges in the White Flag case and sentenced him to three years in prison. In the "White Flag" case, former Army chief was accused of telling the English weekend 'Sunday Leader' newspaper that Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa had ordered to shoot the surrendering Tamil Tiger cadres during the final stages of the war.