he was discharged from the private Nawaloka Hospital where he was receiving treatment since last month for a respiratory ailment. Following his discharge form hospital he was brought to the Supreme Court where his counsel withdrew two appeals pending in court. A five-judge bench headed by the Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayke granted permission for former Army Commander Sarath Fonseka to withdraw the appeals filed by him ahead of the release. The appeal filed against the verdict on the White Flag case and a Writ Application filed related to the verdict on second court martial case had to be withdrawn before his release due to legal conditions for his release. Later, Fonseka was taken back to the Welikada Prison from where he was released after a few hours, the government news agency Lankapuvath reported. Attorney General Eva Wanasundera has said the President Rajapaksa had signed an unconditional pardon for Fonseka and therefore his civic and other rights were not affected by his imprisonment. The Colombo High Court last November 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. Fonseka, who contested the presidential elections in January 2010 as the common opposition candidate, served a 30-month prison term imposed by a court martial in 2010 after finding him guilty of four charges related to alleged irregularities in military procurements during his tenure as Army Chief. Another court martial earlier in the same year delivered an order sentencing the former General for a dishonorable discharge from rank for engaging in politics while being in active service. The retired military chief was stripped of his ranks and medals he earned during his 40-year carrier.
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