Conviction of former Suriname President Dési Bouterse

Yesterday was an important day for military justice and justice in general in Suriname. In a now final verdict the Suriname Court of Justice sentenced 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 long legal procedure. In 2007 groups of citizens initiated a protest, because of the concern that the so-called December-murders would fall under the statute of limitations. This eventually led to criminal proceedings and in 2019 Bouterse was convicted in absentia by the Military Court.

Bouterse subsequently filed an objection to this conviction. In 2021, the Military Court, in the same composition as in 2019 and chaired by President Cynthia Valstein-Montnor, judged that no new facts had emerged and confirmed the earlier sentence. Bouterse appealed the sentence. 

As with the last judgment, the now 78-year-old Mr. Bouterse was not present when the verdict was announced. In the days before, he had given several press conferences in which he denounced the procedure as a ‘political trial’. Former President Bouterse still enjoys popularity in Suriname. 

Contrary to the earlier prosecutions, the General Prosecutor in appeal had requested immediate imprisonment, following the verdict. This request was not granted by the Court of Justice, because it was ‘not sufficiently motivated’. The Court ruled instead that the verdict ‘implied’ imprisonment. It is now up to the Prosecution Service to execute the verdict. How and when that will happen is unclear. 

Within 8 days Bouterse can appeal for a Presidential Pardon to his successor, President Chandrikapersad Santokhi. The President is legally required to ask advice to the same Court of Justice which issued the verdict. 

As to be expected, the relatives of the murdered individuals were most pleased with the verdict. Some of those, who had emigrated to the Netherlands after the killings, vowed that they would now return to their country.

Editor's Note: Many thanks to longtime Global Military Justice Reform contributor Jan Peter Spijk for this report.