The December Murders trial in Suriname is expected to resume on Friday despite the amnesty law granting all suspects immunity from prosecution, including President Desi Bouterse.

On Friday the military court is expected to hear the public prosecutor’s sentencing demands. It is possible that one of the lawyers will appeal to the amnesty law, thus bringing the trial to an end. However, the lawyer representing President Desi Bouterse has indicated he would not be taking advantage of this possibility. He will be calling for a full acquittal for his client. 

The suspects in the trial are accused of the extra-judicial killings of 15 opponents of the military regime led by then army commander Desi Bouterse. Bouterse led a coup in Suriname in 1980, five years after the former Dutch colony gained its independence. He was elected president of the South American country in 2010, despite having been sentenced in his absence to 11 years in jail for drug smuggling in the Netherlands.

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