[JURIST] The military trial of former Suriname dictator Desi Bouterse [backgrounder] for the “December Murders” at Fort Zeelandia, Paramaribo in 1982 commenced Friday with former bodyguard Onno Flohr testifying that Bouterse was present at the killings of 15 political opponents, including lawyers, journalists, professors, military officers and businessmen, who were accused of plotting against the government and that he other members of the firing squad were ordered to fire under the threat of death. Eleonore Geer-Brakke, Bouterse's ex-secretary, also testified that Bouterse was at Fort Zeelandia on the day of the killings. Bouterse has been charged [JURIST report] along with 24 others in connection with the deaths. The former dictator has staunchly denied his involvement, insisting that he was not present at the military compound at the time of the shootings. Bouterse faces up to 20 years in prison.

Bouterse seized control of northeastern South American state of Suriname [JURIST news archive] during a military coup in 1980, five years after the country achieved independence from the Netherlands. He stepped down in 1987 in the face of international pressure and briefly seized power in 1991. He is now the leader of the county’s primary opposition party, the National Democratic Party [official website, in Dutch], which is preparing for the 2010 presidential elections. AFP has more.

[JURIST] The reconstituted Supreme Court of Pakistan [official website] validated President Pervez Musharraf's [official profile; JURIST news archive] declaration of emergency rule and concomitant ouster of judges, including former Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry [JURIST news archive], in an opinion released Friday. A 13-judge panel headed by current Chief Justice Abdul Hamid Dogar upheld Musharraf’s actions in November 2007 as “inevitable” in order to prevent "chaos and anarchy.” Friday’s decision confirmed an earlier judgment [JURIST report] by the same Supreme Court upholding Musharraf's declaration of emergency rule as constitutional.

Musharraf's emergency declaration - now rescinded - effectively dismissed the pre-emergency Supreme Court bench led by Chaudhry. The ousted judges have since been formally retired [JURIST report], although they and their supporters insist that they still legally hold office under Pakistan's constitution. The parties in Pakistan's new coalition government are still struggling over a workable political formula for reinstatement, urged on by members of the country's lawyers' movement [JURIST reports]. PTI has more.

[JURIST] Four members of Myanmar's National League for Democracy (NLD) have been jailed for a year for having campaigned against the country's then-draft constitution [JURIST news archive], according to NLD spokesperson Nyan Win as quoted by AP. Win said Friday the four were arrested in March for spreading leaflets which called on citizens to vote against the draft, which was ultimately approved by a national referendum [JURIST report] in May. In the months leading up to the referendum, the NLD and other opposition groups urged voters to reject the proposed charter [JURIST report], which they called a "sham" [JURIST report] to legalize military rule. The four activists were sentenced June 27, but Win said the party is going to appeal the sentences. AP has more.

Also on Friday, 14 members of the NLD were charged [DPA report] with causing political unrest by staging a protest outside NLD headquarters where they shouted slogans calling for the release of NLD party leader Aung San Suu Kyi [BBC profile; JURIST news archive]. The demonstration took place on June 19, Suu Kyi's 63rd birthday. Suu Kyi has spent 12 of the past 18 years in prison or under house arrest for alleged violations of an anti-subversion law [text]. The military junta extended [JURIST report] Suu Kyi's house arrest into a sixth year in May, sparking an international outcry and demonstrations by the NLD.