Sri Lanka arrests General Fonseka - AL JAZEERA

General Fonseka challenged Rajapaksa in January's vote and has accused the government of election fraud General Sarath Fonseka, the defeated candidate in Sri Lanka's presidential election, has been arrested at his office in Colombo on charges of plotting to overthrow the country's government, defence officials have said. General Prasad Samarasinghe, a military spokesman, said the arrest related to "military offences" from Fonseka's time in the army, which ended in November when he quit and entered the presidential race. "General Fonseka has been arrested on charges of committing military offences," Samarasinghe said in an official statement on Monday. The former army chief "was dragged away in a very disgraceful manner in front of our own eyes", Rauff Hakeem, Sri Lanka's Muslim Congress leader, told the Reuters news agency. 'Coup plot' Al Jazeera's Minelle Fernandez, reporting from Colombo, said: "The director-general of Sri Lanka's Media Center for National Security, Lakshman Hulugalle, has confirmed the arrest of Fonseka by the military police. in depth Profile: Sarath Fonseka Profile: Mahinda Rajapaksa Rajapaksa's minority report Sri Lanka opposition cries foul Video: Sri Lanka votes in Rajapaksa "Hulugalle said Fonseka will face trial before a military court on charges of conspiring to overthrow the government, violating military laws and sowing dissension among members of Sri Lanka's armed forces." Many credit Fonseka with winning the war against the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in May. However, he fell out with Rajapaksa soon after and the pair fought a bitter election campaign. Fonseka was defeated by Rajapaksa last month by six million votes to four million. The former army chief has refused to accept his election defeat, saying his supporters were intimidated and the result fixed. He vowed to challenge them in court. General Fonseka has been accusing the government of trying to frame him. He also alleges there is a plot to kill him. Several senior military officials, close to him, have also been purged since his defeat in the election. The government has been seeking legal advice to bring a court martial against the general on charges of plotting to overthrow the administration.