Dutch court keeps Suriname war-crimes case open despite evidence warning

A court in The Hague has rejected requests to end or immediately hear a war-crimes case against former Surinamese soldier Abdoel L., despite prosecutors saying they do not currently have enough evidence to secure a conviction. The full hearing is provisionally planned for after the summer of 2027, Dutch news agency ANP reported following the court session on 23 October 2026.

Prosecutors suspect L. of killing civilians while serving in Suriname’s army during the country’s 1986–92 civil war. They regard the alleged killings as war crimes. The case relies heavily on L.’s earlier accounts of killing people, including children, but he now says those accounts were untrue. His former lawyer was already making that argument in 2022, according to Dutch broadcaster NOS.

ANP reported that a recently questioned witness also said L. had invented his accounts. At a hearing in 2022, prosecutors cited witness statements and photographs of L. in military uniform, NOS reported. Neither his denial nor those accounts establish what happened to the civilians.

Prosecutors have sought assistance from Surinamese authorities but have received no response, according to ANP. They said they were intensifying those requests in the hope of advancing the investigation. The court’s case listing also says the investigation is ongoing.

L.’s lawyer, Barbara van Straaten, argued that the case had dragged on too long and asked the court to halt the prosecution or hear it immediately and acquit him. The court refused, ANP reported. It also rejected his request for permission to travel to Suriname. A hearing to review the investigation is expected in March or April 2027; no date has been fixed for the full hearing.