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Law and JusticeSuriname

Suriname court upholds ex-president's 20-year sentence

December 20, 2023

Suriname's ex-president, Desi Bouterse, was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2019 for his role in the execution of 15 people in December 1982. The court upheld the verdict and this decision may lead to protests.

https://p.dw.com/p/4aPA8
Suriname's former President Desi Bouterse speaks during a rally at his NDP party centre, where he asked supporters to calmly wait for the High Court of Justice verdict in his appeals case against the Court Martial, in Paramaribo, on December 16, 2023
Earlier, Suriname's former president Desi Bouterse said he would respect the court's decisionImage: Ranu Abhelakh/AFP/Getty Images

A three-judge panel in Suriname on Wednesday upheld the 2019 conviction of former president Desi Bouterse for his role in the execution of 15 political opponents in December 1982. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

"Those who sought justice had angelic patience," court president Dinesh Sewratan said as he read the judgment. After the appeal decision, the ex-president's only remaining option is to ask for a pardon.

The 78-year-old Bouterse led the country through the 1980s as head of a military government, then returned to office in 2010 and was re-elected five years later.

What happened in December 1982?

Bouterse seized power in a 1980 coup against Suriname's first prime minister, Henck Arron, just five years after the South American country, wedged between Guyana and French Guyana, gained independence from the Netherlands.

The court ruled in 2019 that Bouterse oversaw a December 1982 operation in which soldiers abducted 16 leading government critics — including lawyers, journalists, union leaders, soldiers and university professors — from their homes.

Fifteen were murdered in a colonial fortress in the capital, Paramaribo. One union leader survived and testified against Bouterse.

However, Bouterse has denied involvement in the 1982 killings, saying the victims were held for plotting a counter-coup with the help of the CIA and were shot while trying to escape.

Warnings of possible protests

The ruling comes at a time when tensions are already high in the small country, which has seen protests against soaring inflation and austerity measures.

Bouterse remains very popular, especially among the country's poor and working class. In July, he said he would respect the verdict.

"Whatever it will be, I'm ready for it," he said, adding he was "convinced that the other judge, history, will acquit me 100%."

On the eve of the verdict, the Dutch and French embassies in the capital, Paramaribo, warned of possible unrest.

Police announced roadblocks that would make it difficult for Bouterse's supporters to approach the courthouse.

In 1999, a court in the Netherlands, Suriname's former colonial ruler, sentenced Bouterse in absentia to 11 years in prison for cocaine smuggling, another charge he denies.

dh/msh (AFP, Reuters)