Bouterse, 78, who dominated Suriname's politics for decades and left office in 2020, faces 20 years in prison.

Although he has denied the charges, this was his final possible appeal.

The government said the verdict was “an important moment of healing” and called on citizens to accept it, but added that the court had not ordered immediate imprisonment.

“The government will in the coming period, in close consultation with the relevant authorities, in compliance with the legal provisions, take up the follow-up to the verdict pronounced,” said the current Surinamese government in a statement.

The court ruled in 2019 that Bouterse had overseen an operation in which soldiers abducted 16 leading government critics, including lawyers, journalists, union leaders, soldiers, and university professors, from their homes. Fifteen of them were murdered at a colonial fortress in the capital Paramaribo. One trade union leader survived and gave testimony against Bouterse.

Bouterse has said in the past the murdered men were connected to an invasion plot involving the Netherlands and the United States. His defense had argued their deaths were not premeditated, but the court said it concluded that Bouterse “had sufficient time to consider the decision to eliminate the victims.”

The prosecution had alleged that the men were arrested on the nights of December 7 and 8 and transferred to Fort Zeelandia, the then headquarters of the Surinamese National Army. They said the men were tortured and summarily executed.

While no order for his immediate arrest has been announced, Justice Dinesh Sewratan said he had considered all facts and that since 20 years was the highest sentence at the time the offenses were committed and given Bouterse’s age, he sentenced him to 20 years in prison.