Sri Lankan Army on Thursday said its detained former chief Gen Sarath Fonseka tried to evade court martial proceedings on grounds of ill-health, but his counsel persuaded him to appear before the panel.
Fonseka, who is currently under the Army custody, was asked to appear before the second Court Martial on Wednesday afternoon after he presented himself before the first Court Martial earlier in the day.
"Though General Fonseka was trying to evade Wednesday afternoon's second Court Martial on grounds of ill-health, his defence counsel after advising their client however managed to bring him back to the Court Martial for hearing," the Army said in a statement.
The two Courts Martial, probing into charges against Fonseka, were convened to resume their sittings on Wednesday.
While the first court martial was adjourned until June 1, the next hearing of the court martial would be held on May 24.
Stating that he was medically unfit, Fonseka said he did not wish to appear before the second Court Martial, the statement said, adding that his complaint of sickness prompted a medical specialist and a medical officer to examine him.
"Medical officers after examination maintained that General Fonseka was not physically unfit to appear before the Court Martial," the statement said.
{{/usCountry}}"Medical officers after examination maintained that General Fonseka was not physically unfit to appear before the Court Martial," the statement said.
{{/usCountry}}Fonseka on Wednesday went on a fast after authorities refused to allow him to attend Parliament.
Fonseka has been accused of breaching standard military procedures while purchasing arms and ammunitions during his tenure as Army Commander.