PARAMARIBO, Suriname (CMC):

A court here in Paramaribo has dismissed a motion brought by Suriname's former dictator Desi Bouterse, who has been seeking to have the leading judge in his murder trial removed.

On July 25, attorneys for the former army commander submitted the motion before the court, challenging the impartiality of the president of the Military Court, Cynthia Valstein-Montnor.

The motion also called on the court to ban the media from further covering the high-profile murder trial.

However, the court has dismissed the motion, saying Bouterse's case was not eligible for review since the defendant was not present in court for the hearing.

In rejecting the motion, the court also noted that Bouterse had not signed any of the documents submitted by his lawyer, as is also required by Surinamese law.

With this latest ruling, the trial, which started in November 2007, is likely to resume in January 2009.

Bouterse, an ex-army commander and former government leader, is standing trial, along with 24 co-defendants, for the extrajudicial killings of 15 of his political opponents on December 8, 1982 in the then military headquarters at Fort Zeelandia.