“He took the lives of the victims. He has decided about life and death. He inflicted a lot of suffering.” With these stern words, Judge Dinesh Sewratan introduces the verdict, which he will pronounce on Wednesday as the denouement of the drawn-out December murders trial.
The then army leader and later president of Suriname, Desi Bouterse, has been on trial for this for years, after fifteen opponents and critics of his military regime were tortured and murdered in 1982. A crime for which he has now – 41 years later – also been sentenced to twenty years in prison on appeal.
With this verdict, the Court of Justice confirms an earlier conviction by the Court Martial from November 2019. And the last legal options of Bouterse – who is not present at the hearing – appear to have been exhausted. But the Court rejects the demand from the Public Prosecution Service (OM) to also impose an ‘order for immediate arrest’. According to the judges, this order is not sufficiently substantiated by the Public Prosecution Service, but above all it is unnecessary: the unconditional prison sentence implies imprisonment.
Although Bouterse (78) remains free for the time being, relatives embrace each other with relief as soon as the final verdict has been pronounced. Some cry. Four of Bouterse’s co-suspects are also convicted, with sentences of 15 years.
Relaxed atmosphere at the party center
Once outside, the relief really becomes palpable. Lilian Gonçalvez, widow of Kenneth Gonçalvez, one of the fifteen victims and the former dean of Advocates of Suriname, speaks of an important and historic day. She is not disappointed that the Court did not order a detention order. “This sentence must now simply be carried out.”
In the capital it remains quiet all day long and many businesses are closed, while the area around the courthouse is fenced and extra secured. However, Bouterse’s supporters have been urged via social media to stay at home or to come to Ocer, the party center of the NDP, Bouterse’s political party – not to the court.
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The feared disturbances do not occur. But when, how and where Bouterse will serve his sentence will be up to the Public Prosecution Service and the police in the coming days. “If I were the Public Prosecution Service, I would already be on my way to the convicted person, because what the judge has decided must be implemented,” says Hugo Essed, lawyer for the surviving relatives.
Irwin Kanhai, Bouterse’s lawyer, is disappointed: he had demanded an acquittal. Kanhai may try to have an international assessment whether Bouterse’s rights have been violated. This may be possible at the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. The Surinamese constitution also offers a possibility for pardon by the president. If a request is submitted, the judge who rendered the judgment must also issue an opinion.
Impunity elsewhere in the region
After the hearing, relatives continue to talk to each other in groups, but it soon becomes quieter in the court. It is now a little busier at the Ocer party center, where the party leadership and supporters gather in a relaxed atmosphere. Chairman Ricardo Panka reads a statement from the party, which calls on members to “abstain from actions that are inconsistent with the ideals of the party.” Furthermore, NDP members are called on to focus mainly on the 2025 elections. Bouterse himself arrives at Ocer around 2 o’clock in the afternoon local time, but only stays for a short time, speaks to no one and leaves unnoticed.
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Although former Peruvian President Fujimori, among others, was previously convicted of human rights violations elsewhere in South America and it remains to be seen whether and under what detention regime Bouterse will be imprisoned, this verdict can already be called historic internationally. Especially at a time when “powerful perpetrators” can carry out the most terrible human rights violations with impunity, says Reed Brody, who came to the hearing from Geneva as an observer of the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ).
Brody: “I can only say ‘wow’, what an achievement from Suriname. This is a huge victory for the relatives, but also an example to the world. Even when Bouterse was president, the process continued, of course with all kinds of obstacles and delays, but in many other countries in Latin America it would never have gotten to this point and the process would have been stopped.”
With the collaboration of Wilfred Leeuwin
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