The Surinamese Public Prosecution Service has called on the five convicts in the December murder trial, including former president Desi Bouterse, to report to prison on Friday morning local time. The Public Prosecution Service reports this in a press release. It is not known where Bouterse will be held: the convicts must report to different prisons.
In a statement, the Public Prosecution Service writes that, after the period for submitting a request for clemency had expired, attempts were made to talk to Irvin Kanhai, Bouterse’s lawyer, among others, about the execution of the sentence. Twice Kanhai allegedly failed to appear. Bouterse is also the only convict who did not want to receive the letter from the Public Prosecution Service about the execution of the sentence.
At the end of last year, Bouterse was sentenced by the Court of Justice to twenty years in prison for his role in the murder of fifteen men on December 8, 1982, better known as the December murders. The question then was where he would be detained. Authorities previously spoke about a possible special prison elsewhere in the country to ensure the safety of the Surinamese former president. A military base near Boxel and the Military Hospital were mentioned as possibilities.
In an attempt to avoid a prison sentence for Bouterse, a newly appointed team of lawyers tried to have the sentence suspended. According to the lawyers, legal errors had previously been made in the process and the 2012 amnesty law would apply to the case. They submitted a request to the Public Prosecution Service, which was rejected on Tuesday. The same lawyers subsequently filed a notice of objection with the Attorney General. That objection was rejected on Wednesday.