SURINAME-Former head of national security faces a nine-year jail sentence.

PARAMARIBO, Suriname, CMC – The former head of the Directorate of National Security (DNV), Lieutenant Colonel Danielle Veira, faces a possible nine year prison sentence as the Military Court prepares to deliver its verdict next week in a case in which she is accused of, among other things, complicity in hostage-taking, trespassing, complicity in theft and robbery with violence, and unauthorized distribution of firearms passes.

The Public Prosecution Service (OM) has demanded a nine-year jail term as the case wrapped up on Monday, and the Court prepares to deliver its verdict.

The case stems from the April 2020 alleged attempted kidnapping of a former candidate for the National Assembly, Rodney Cairo, who had been under judicial investigation. Security personnel, allegedly acting on the orders of the then director of national security, Veira, raided Cairo’s home after Cairo criticised the then minister of defense on his Facebook page.

Veira was subsequently relieved of her duties and was later officially identified as a suspect in the Cairo case.

An emotional Viera, addressing the Court, maintained her innocence of the 13 charges brought against her by the OM, saying that, in her “wildest dreams,” she never imagined she would have to defend herself before the Military Court.

“I was subjected to character assassination, and before I even appeared before the Military Court, I was already convicted. I was portrayed as public enemy number one,” she said in the case that has gripped the Dutch-speaking Caribbean Community (CARICOM).

She said that the entire criminal case against her was unfair and that a plan had been made to “drop her.” She told the Military Court that the case was riddled with political resentment toward he and that it was a terrible feeling to go from being a national hero to a suspect who is now being ignored.

“I was the first intelligence officer, a woman who, during the COVID-19 pandemic, tried to protect the public from the then-unknown virus. There was a huge hype on social media, and I was known as ‘Doewet’ and ‘Help Yourself.’ And now…now I’ve been scornfully dismissed as a vice and a suspect,” Veira said, almost in tears.

She said her words were dismissed as unreliable throughout the entire trial, adding, “I have tried not to despair, and I continue to believe that God, the Chief Justice who knows what happened, will continue to be with me.”

She stated that the decision to call then-police chief Roberto Prade that morning wasn’t to cover up a criminal offense, but to secure surveillance, and that she wished she had been more vigilant.

“I didn’t betray my country or use my position for personal gain,” she maintained.

Earlier, in their closing argument, her defence team, led by attorney Derrick Veira, said that the prosecution’s case had “numerous investigative blunders.

“How is it possible that the crime scene wasn’t cordoned off and fingerprints weren’t taken? How is it possible that one of the suspects simply walked away from the hostage situation without the prosecution using Safe City cameras to investigate who this person was?”

Veira said that it was regrettable that the evidence of Cairo allegedly provided on a memory stick was not verified for authenticity.

“Furthermore, the defense wishes to note that Cairo’s statements are false and inconsistent with the camera footage. Therefore, his statement cannot be upheld,” Veira said, submitting on Monday a statement from the current head of DNV, who allegedly stated that gun permits had indeed been issued to individuals, even after Veira was no longer in charge.

“President, there are too many shortcomings in the investigation, and normally this should be in the defendant’s favour,” Veira said, even as the military prosecutor subsequently requested the Military Court not to admit the statement as evidence.

After a recess, Cynthia Valstein-Montnor, the presiding judge of the Military Court, announced that the letter’s contents would be addressed during the sentencing and that the Military Court would deliver its verdict in the case next week.