PARAMARIBO, Suriname -- Former dictator Desi Bouterse and 25 other suspects will face trial for one of this former Dutch colony's most notorious crimes, the 1982 killings of 15 government critics, a lawyer said Saturday.

Prosecutors notified Bouterse and the others of the decision last week, said Irwin Kanhai, a lawyer who represents five of the defendants, including the former dictator.

"The notifications state that my clients will be tried for alleged murder," Kanhai said.

Six other suspects in the case won't face trial for lack of evidence, according to an official in the prosecutor's office who spoke on condition of anonymity. The official said the trials could start by March.

Bouterse and the others could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

The decision comes after a four-year investigation into Dec. 8, 1982 killings. The victims -- journalists, politicians, lawyers and union officials -- were allegedly taken by soldiers to Paramaribo's Fort Zeelandia and shot one by one. At the time, the military said the activists were killed while fleeing from prison.

The killings prompted an exodus of hundreds of Bouterse opponents to the Netherlands, the former colonial power. Ever since, relatives of the victims have been demanding legal redress. Dutch forensic specialists helped authorities investigate the slayings.

Bouterse, now an elected parliamentarian in this nation of 450,000 people, seized power in a 1980 coup. His regime stepped down in 1987 to make way for elections, but briefly seized control again through a bloodless coup in 1991.

He has repeatedly denied any involvement in the killings.