Former Surinamese President Desi Bouterse Sentenced to 20 Years in Jail for 1982 Murders

Paramaribo, Suriname – The Court of Justice Wednesday imposed a 20 year-jail term on former president Desi Bouterse, who has been implicated in the murder of 15 men on December 8, 1982.

Bouterse, who was not present when the Court issued the ruling, had appealed against his conviction that had been handed down in August 2021, when the Court Martial of Suriname upheld the 2019 military court ruling of a 20-year-jail term following a trial that had been going on for several years.

In 2017, Bouterse along with 23 co-defendants appeared in the military court after the Court of Justice had earlier rejected a motion to stop the trial. The former military officers and civilians had been charged with the December 8, 1982 murders of the 15 men that included journalists, military officers, union leaders, lawyers, businessmen and university lecturers.

The prosecution had alleged that the men were arrested on the nights of December 7 and 8 and transferred to Fort Zeelandia, the then headquarters of the Surinamese National Army. They said the men were tortured and summarily executed.

While no order for his immediate arrest has been announced, Justice Dinesh Sewratan said that the 15 men were murdered without conscience and that there was indeed premeditation.

He said he had considered that all facts the 78 year-old Bouterse proven and that since 20 years was the highest sentence at the time the offenses were committed and given Bouterse’s age, he sentenced him to 20 years in prison.

The Suriname government urged citizens to regard the verdict of the Court of Justice “as an important moment of healing”.

In addition, the Court also sentenced Bouterse’s four associates to 15 years in jail, down from the original 20 years. Stephanus Dendoe, who was sentenced to 10 years at the end of the trial a few years ago, will now serve 15 years. (CMC)