A court in Sri Lanka jails former army chief Sarath Fonseka

A court in Sri Lanka has sentenced the former army chief Sarath Fonseka to three years in jail after he accused the government of committing war crimes.

Mr Fonseka has rejected the verdict, saying it is aimed at keeping him out of politics.

Sarath Fonseka led the Sri Lankan military to victory against the Tamil Tigers in 2009, but fell out with President Mahinda Rajapaksa shortly afterwards, and ran against him in elections last year.

Charles Haviland reports from Colombo.