Today, the Suriname Military Court has again convicted former President Dési Bouterse to 20 years' imprisonment for co-committing 15 murders on December 8, 1982. The victims were prominent lawyers, officers and journalists, who had criticized Bouterse’s military regime at the time.
This verdict comes at the end of a repeated trial by the Military Court. Bouterse was convicted in absentia in 2019, to which conviction he had filed an objection. The Military Court, in the same composition as in 2019 and chaired by President Cynthia Valstein-Montnor, judged that no new facts had emerged.
This judgment is not final. Mr. Bouterse’s lawyer, Mr. Irvin Kanhai, has already announced that he will appeal to the Suriname (civilian) Appeals Court.
As with the last judgment, when he still was President, the now 75-year-old Mr. Bouterse was not present when the verdict was announced. He had reported himself sick. The Military Court has not ordered the imprisonment of Mr. Bouterse.
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