- Suriname: Former president gets 20 year jail sentence
Former Suriname President Desi Bouterse was sentenced to 20 years in prison by the Court of Justice on Wednesday for the murder of 15 men on December 8, 1982.
Bouterse, 78, who was not present when the Court issued the ruling, had appealed his conviction, which was handed down in August 2021, when the Court Martial of Suriname upheld the 2019 military court ruling of a 20-year prison term following a lengthy trial.
Bouterse and 23 co-defendants appeared in military court in 2017, after the Court of Justice had previously rejected a motion to halt the trial. Former military officers and citizens were charged with the murders of 15 men on December 8, 1982, including journalists, military personnel, union leaders, lawyers, businessmen, and university professors.
The men were seized on the nights of December 7 and 8 and taken to Fort Zeelandia, the then headquarters of the Surinamese National Army, according to the prosecution. They claimed the men were tortured and then executed.
While no arrest warrant has been issued, Justice Dinesh Sewratan stated that the 15 men were slain without conscience and with premeditation.
He stated that he had examined all evidence and that, because 20 years was the maximum term at the time the crimes were committed and given Bouterse’s age, he sentenced him to 20 years in jail.
