PARAMARIBO, Suriname, CMC – President Chandrikapersad Santokhi says he will adhere to the advice of the Court of Justice in the event a pardon is being requested for former president Desi Bouterse, who was sentenced to 20 years in jail earlier this week for his role in in the controversial multiple murder of 15 men on December 8, 1982.
In addition, the Court also sentenced Bouterse’s four associates to 15 years in jail, down from the original 20 years. Stephanus Dendoe, sentenced to 10 years at the end of the trial a few years ago, will now serve 15 years.
The convicted men have eight days to submit a request for pardon.
But President Santokhi, speaking with a Suriname-based online publication, Starnieuws, said that his position is that the sentence, which has now been served on the convicts, must be carried out.
In addition to the (criminal) pardon within eight days, a (constitutional) pardon can also be applied during detention. The procedure and the decision are the same.
All this depends on the advice of the Court of Justice, President Santokhi told Starnieuws, adding that requirements can also be imposed when granting a pardon or reduced sentence.
He also said it is still being determined where the convicts will be jailed and that the Attorney General and the Minister of Justice & Police will decide.
Meanwhile, the Public Prosecution Service (OM) says now that a final decision has been made in the appeal of the December 8 criminal case, it will proceed with executing the sentence.
The OM said it would consult with Bouterse, the other four convicted people, and their lawyer to determine the day and date of execution of the imposed sentence.
On Wednesday, Bouterse was sentenced with Benny Brondenstein, Stephanus Dendoe, Iwan Dijksteel, and Ernst Jefferies. They were not present in the Court when the judgment was handed down.
The Public Prosecution Service said that according to the Code of Criminal Procedure, no legal remedy is available against Wednesday’s verdict.
“It is an adversary judgment in which all relevant parties have had the opportunity to present their positions,” the Public Prosecution Service said.
In August 2021, the Court Martial of Suriname upheld the 2019 military court ruling of a 20-year jail term on Bouterse following a trial that had been going on for several years.
In 2017, Bouterse and 23 co-defendants appeared in the military Court after the Court of Justice had earlier rejected a motion to stop the trial. The former army officers and civilians had been charged with the December 8, 1982, murders of 15 men, including journalists, military officers, union leaders, lawyers, businessmen, and university lecturers.
The prosecution had alleged that the men were arrested on December 7 and 8 nights and transferred to Fort Zeelandia, the then headquarters of the Surinamese National Army. They said the men were tortured and summarily executed.
and then 