International

The Justice of Suriname refuses to suspend the conviction of former former President Bouterse fugitive

The Court of Justice of Suriname rejected the appeal to suspend the convictions of former fugitive president Desi Bouterse and the other four convicted of the murder of 15 political opponents in 1982.

The former president’s lawyers alleged that the judicial process against his clients was not fair, and that is what the Court of Justice had to determine today, which declared it “inadmissible.”

The former governor must thus serve his 20-year prison sentence, issued last December, since the court decided not to suspend the sentence or its execution.

However, one of the lawyers, Murwin Dubois, quoted by the Surinamese media, indicated that they will “carefully study the considerations of the court” to determine other steps to be taken.

Dubois said that the legal team still believes that procedural errors were made in the trial.

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Although the legal options for Bouterse and the other four convicts – sentenced to 15 years in prison – to avoid punishment were exhausted, the question remains whether the former president will serve that sentence.

Bouterse, 78 years old and president between 2010 and 2020, has been a fugitive from the Surinamese authorities since last January, when he should have appeared before the authorities, and his whereabouts are unknown.

Interpol issued a red notice against Desi Bouterse last week for law enforcement around the world to locate and arrest him.

Bouterse, who led a military government in the 1980s, had already been sentenced in 2021 for the massacre of opponents to 20 years in prison by the Surinamese Martial Court, which confirmed a similar ruling in 2019.

The victims – journalists, military, union leaders, lawyers, businessmen and university professors – arrested on December 8, 1982 and transferred to the then headquarters of the Surinamese National Army, where they were tortured and later summarily executed.

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Related Topics:Court of Justice of Suriname

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