Suriname President Acts to Again Avoid Trial in 1982 Deaths
Source: Associated Press
Suriname President Acts to Again Avoid Trial in 1982 Deaths
By PIETER VAN MAELE, ASSOCIATED PRESS PARAMARIBO, Suriname Jun 29, 2016, 5:49 PM ET
President Desi Bouterse sought again Wednesday to prevent authorities from putting him back on trial for the abduction and summary execution of 15 political opponents when he was the military dictator of this South American nation.
Bouterse instructed Suriname's attorney general to immediately halt proceedings against him, invoking an article of the constitution that allows the president to issue such an order in the interests of national security.
The action follows a June court ruling that invalidated an amnesty law pushed through parliament by Bouterse's supporters after he was elected president. The court ordered the resumption of the trial against him and 24 co-defendants.
Since then, the political mood has been tense amid expectations that the president would seek to prevent the case from moving forward. Bouterse had said the trial poses a danger to the internal security of the country, which is struggling through a recession because of the sharp drop in commodity prices.
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