Bouterse also demanded 20 years in prison on appeal for December murders

The Public Prosecution Service (OM) in Suriname has again demanded 20 years in prison against former president Desi Bouterse for his involvement in the murder of fifteen political opponents in 1982.

The Public Prosecution Service now also explicitly stated that Bouterse should be imprisoned if convicted. This ‘imprisonment’ was previously not specifically mentioned by the judiciary.

At his earlier conviction, in 2019, Bouterse was still president. He also received a 20-year prison sentence for his role in the December murders. He resisted the court-martial, which also handed down the same sentence in 2021, but also did not demand capture. The case has been on appeal since July.

The court is expected to rule later this year. Bouterse is currently the leader of the largest opposition party in Suriname.

Bouterse himself has always denied his involvement in the December murders. He believes that he is only politically responsible, because he was commander of the army in 1982. Bouterse invariably calls the lawsuit politically motivated.

On the first day of the appeal, at the end of July last year, Bouterse said that a number of exculpatory statements about him were not included in the original verdict. He also denied premeditation in the murders. According to the former leader, the victims were out for a coup and were shot by soldiers while fleeing.

At the end of November Bouterse visited Fort Zeelandia for the first time as a suspect, the place where the murders have been committed. The Court of Justice held a hearing here in the hope that memories would surface among the suspects and witnesses in the case. Bouterse said after the hearing that he had tried to “remember” the matter.

Also view the retrospective of the December murders below: