Prosecutors in Suriname have asked the High Court of Justice to uphold the 20-year prison sentence handed down to former president Desi Buterse.
The 74-year-old was convicted in 2019 of ordering the extrajudicial execution of 15 political opponents four decades ago.
Boutiers has since been appealing the decision and cannot be arrested until the process is over.
The court is expected to rule on the sentence later this year.
Botrus has denied any involvement in the executions. They insist the victims – who included lawyers, union leaders and journalists – were shot as they tried to escape from a colonial-era fortress in the South American country’s capital, Paramaribo.
The former leader’s appeal is currently being heard and is expected to last until the end of March, after which the High Court will deliver its verdict on the sentence.
Boutiers recently admitted in court that he heard gunshots on the day the prisoners were killed but insisted he did not order their executions.
He has instead blamed his deputy Pal Bhagwan Das – who died in 1996 – for the death. But witnesses testified that Botters was present when the victims were killed.
The killings took place in 1982 – seven years after Suriname’s independence from the Netherlands. Boutiers’ lawyers had previously argued that the victims were cooperating with the Dutch, France and the United States to overthrow him.
Bouterse led Suriname as head of a military government and de facto leader in the 1980s.
He assumed the presidency in 2010 after democratic elections and was elected to a second term in 2015, serving until 2020, when his party lost power.
