Conviction of former Suriname dictator was based on false statements

Former Surinamese dictator
Desi Bouterse

by Ivan Cairo
Caribbean Net News Suriname Correspondent

Wednesday, May 25, 2005

PARAMARIBO, Suriname: The main witness whose testimony led to the conviction of former Surinamese dictator Desi Bouterse in 1999, according to investigations of the Belgian justice department had fabricated his story.

Bouterse was sentenced to an 11 year prison term by a Dutch court for his alleged role in the transportation of 474 kilos of cocaine from Suriname to Holland. Prosecutors could not make five other drug trafficking charges stick.

Belgian police and the judiciary conducted a very thorough investigation of the main witness Patrick van Loon, a Belgian, and came to the conclusion that he could not have known of Bouterse’s possible involvement in drug activities. On basis of these findings Bouterse’s lawyer Inez Weski will submit an appeal to the High Court in the Netherlands for revision of the case.

Reopening of the trial could lead to an acquittal for the former army leader, who is one of the major contenders for a seat in parliament in the general elections Wednesday in Suriname. Recently the United States issued a statement saying Washington will sever ties with Suriname if Bouterse become the next president. In Suriname this statement was largely seen as meddling in this CARICOM nation’s internal affairs.

In Bouterse’s National Democratic Party, the latest developments were welcomed enthusiastically since the party leader on many occasions has said that he is innocent. Caribbean Net News could not get a statement from Bouterse right away since he was campaigning in the Boven-Suriname area in the interior of Suriname.

NDP’s secretary and dedicated friend of the former army commander Ramon Abrahams told Caribbean Net News that with the new findings Bouterse’s name will be cleared. “The evidence is there that Bouterse is innocent. For years Holland has criminalized him, because he stood up for the interests of his country and fellow countrymen,” Abrahams said when contacted by phone at party headquarters Tuesday evening.

According to investigations by the Belgian authorities, Patrick Van Loon could never have known of Bouterse’s possible involvement in drug trafficking and his testimony was contrary to statements he made in other drug-related investigations. Beside their own enquiries the Belgians had information from three different Dutch investigations and Great-Britain where the witness was also a suspect.

Also the Belgian judiciary had access to information held by the Drug Enforcement Agency of the United States. A couple of months ago Bouterse indicated that his lawyers would come up with a “time bomb” under the drug conviction.

According to his attorney Weski, the court in The Hague in 1999 was not in a position to test the accuracy of the evidence given by the main witness since he could appeal to his right not to elaborate. In the trial against the former dictator who seized power in a 1980 military coup, as a witness Van Loon could not incriminate himself.

In sentencing Bouterse, the court stressed that the conviction they were set to pass on was based on the testimony of the main witness. Weski claimed that if the court had the evidence which surfaced recently, an acquittal would have followed.

The lawyer further claimed that prosecutors were aware of this information and still used the Belgian witness to testify so they could get a conviction. She will submit an appeal for revision this week to the High Court.

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