The victims were traveling when we arrived at the dead end. Hugo Essed, the attorney representing the next of kin in the criminal trial from December 8, tells what transpired yesterday at the descente, or court inspection, in Fort Zeelandia in the context of the criminal trial’s appeal. The people in attendance moved away from the victims’ location in the “triangle” on the ground floor.
The victims were subsequently taken to the room of Desi Bouterse, the then-Supreme Commander, who is reputed to have executed prisoners there. Essed explains that they had to proceed down the passage to the execution area.
It makes you shiver. Because it was his first time in the Fort during a descente, he had this experience of the judicial survey. He has only previously visited Bastion Veere for the floral tribute.
Essed’s lone originality was the dead end that the victims had to travel through. He doesn’t even refer to the triangle-shaped area where the victims were as a jail. There was just one door from which individuals could enter and exit the room, which had high walls. The room of the then-Supreme Commander Bouterse is reached by the entrance that leads to a stairway. There was a corridor leading to Bastion Veere from Bouterse’s room.
The testimonies in the Fort were not brand-new; rather, they were simply repetitions of past statements. Essed believes that no fresh information has emerged. It is crucial that the judges were able to visualize the surroundings and determine how far away people might see and hear things. This makes verifying the veracity of the witness testimony simpler.
Essed claims that Bouterse has not been the subject of many inquiries. Essed can only recall Bouterse being asked if he can recall where he sat in his first-floor bedroom. Bouterse was unable to recall that.
Essed believes that none of the other questions have ever received a definitive response. Bouterse has a generally laconic demeanor, according to Essed, who did not pay much attention to Bouterse. There aren’t any direct inquiries made of him.
On December 16, the case will be picked back up to hear more from the subjects.
