Suriname’s ex-dictator sentenced to 20 years in prison for the 1982 killings of political opponents

Published December 20, 2023 12:23 PM

By GEROLD ROZENBLAD
Associated Press

PARAMARIBO, Suriname (AP) — Suriname’s former dictator Desi Bouterse has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for the murders of 15 opponents of the then-military regime in December 1982, ending a historic, 16-year legal process. Bouterse, 78, was previously sentenced in the case in 2019 and in 2021 but had appealed both decisions. The court on Wednesday upheld his conviction and the latest sentencing was seen as final with no more appeals allowed. The judge handed down 20 years given the ex-president’s age and that it was the highest sentence allowed at the time of the killings. “We have received a gem of a verdict,” said prosecution lawyer Hugo Essed.

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