Colombo: A Sri Lankan court on Thursday
directed officials to improve prison conditions and provide
adequate facilities for detained former army chief Sarath
Fonseka following his brief illness.
The Colombo High Court ordered to provide an exercise
machine needed to maintain his health condition. The court
also ordered the prison department to repair the roof of the
cell where Fonseka is being held, his lawyers said.
Fonseka, 59, is currently serving a 30-month jail term
for corruption in defence deals during his tenure. He had been
admitted to a prison hospital on Tuesday following a brief
illness.
The court's order came after Sarath Fonseka's lawyer
complained his prison cell was leaking during rains and the
ex-general had fallen ill as a result.
"Due to heavy showers last week he had to use a bucket
to take out the water as there was a leak in the roof in his
cell. He was later provided with five buckets by the prison
officers at Welikada," Anoma Fonseka, the wife of jailed army
chief was quoted as saying by 'Daily Mirror'.
Fonseka was arrested after the January 26
presidential election which he contested as the common
opposition candidate against the incumbent Mahinda Rajapaksa.
He was sentenced by a military court martial for 30
months in jail in late September after being convicted of
involvement in corruption in defence deals during his tenure
as army chief.
Earlier his military ranks were removed for indulging
in politics while in the uniform. He is facing several other
cases in civil courts too.
Troops to defeat the LTTE, sustained multiple injuries
in a suicide bomb attack on him in April 2006.
According to Fonseka's family, he still receives
medical attention for the injuries received in the LTTE
attack.
PTI
First Published: Thursday, November 18, 2010, 21:21