Military court is yet to decide on the sentence but he might be sent to jail

Anura Kumara Dissanayake, a senior member of the Fonseka-led Democratic National Alliance (DNA), told the journalists that the military courts are not established courts of law in Sri Lanka.

“A military court is a special institution established under Army Act therefore someone's parliamentary seat is not affected by a ruling of a military court,” he said.

The former general who led the war against the Tamil Tigers under President Rajapaksa’s leadership was last week found guilty of four charges related to corruption, including offering tenders to a company that has links with his son-in-law.

Rule of law

Mr. Fonseka is yet to be sentenced, his lawyer Sunil Watagala told BBC Sandeshaya on Friday.

Established courts  A military court is a special institution established under Army Act therefore someone's parliamentary seat is not affected by a ruling of a military court   Anura Kumara Dissanayake, MP

If a parliamentarian is sentenced to a period longer than six months, he or she loses the parliamentary seat according to Sri Lanka’s constitution.

But Mr. Dissnayake, MP, says that provision will only be valid if the ruling was given by a “accepted court of law by the constitution.”

Mr, Fonseka, he added, has no intention to seek pardon from President Rajapaksa if he is sentenced to jail but would file an appeal against the ruling.

“We would lodge an appeal as a matter of tradition though the people in Sri Lanka are gradually losing the trust on the rule of law,” he said.

The DNA parliamentarian who is also a senior leader of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) said the main opposition United National Party (UNP) has “a duty” to stand for Mr. Fonseka as his contesting against the president is the “main for seeking revenge.”