Suriname court convicts President Desi Bouterse of murder for 1982 executions

South American leader, who is currently on official trip in China, sentenced to 20 years in prison over death of 15 political opponents

Victims, including lawyers, journalists and university teachers, were taken from homes in operation overseen by Bouterse

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Suriname’s President Desi Bouterse at a meeting in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Wednesday. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 4:06am, 30 Nov 2019Updated: 10:04pm, 30 Nov 2019

A court in Suriname on Friday convicted President Desi Bouterse of murder for the execution of 15 opponents in 1982 during an earlier term as military ruler of the South American country after he and other soldiers led a violent coup to seize power.

The court sentenced Bouterse, who is currently in China on an official visit, to 20 years in prison.

The decision by a panel of three judges marked the end of a historic trial that began in November 2007, although it was not immediately clear what happens next.

Bouterse, 74, has dominated much of the history of Suriname since its 1975 independence from the Netherlands. He led the country of 560,000 people through the 1980s, assumed office again in 2010 and secured re-election five years later.

Chinese President Xi Jinping holds a welcome ceremony for Suriname's President Desire Bouterse before their talks at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Wednesday. Photo: Xinhua

The military court on Friday ruled that Bouterse had overseen an operation in which soldiers under his command abducted 16 leading government critics from their homes and killed 15 of them at a colonial fortress in Paramaribo.