THE lawyer of Suriname’s former dictator Desi Bouterse called yesterday for a court to acquit him of a 20-year sentence over the deaths of 15 political prisoners.
Bouterse first seized power in a 1980 coup and in December 1982 allegedly rounded up 15 political opponents – including lawyers, journalists and businessmen – for execution at the Fort Zeelandia military barracks in the capital Paramaribo.