- Ousman Sonko, who served under dictator Yahya Jammeh, faces charges of killings, torture, rape and unlawful detentions
- Advocacy groups welcome the trial as a chance to secure justice for victims of Jammeh's brutal regime
- Sonko is the highest-ranking former official to face trial under universal jurisdiction in Europe
A Swiss court will begin the trial of Ousman Sonko, a former Gambian interior minister, on Monday for his alleged involvement in crimes against humanity during the oppressive rule of Yahya Jammeh.
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Sonko, who was Jammeh's interior minister from 2006 to 2016, is accused of supporting, participating in and failing to prevent attacks on regime opponents in Gambia, a small west African country that borders Senegal. The charges include killings, torture, rape and unlawful detentions, according to Swiss authorities.
Sonko applied for asylum in Switzerland in November 2016, after he was sacked by Jammeh, and was arrested two months later. The Swiss attorney general's office said the indictment against Sonko, filed in April, covers alleged crimes over 16 years under Jammeh, who ruled Gambia with an iron fist for 22 years.
Human rights groups have hailed the trial of Sonko as a significant step in the pursuit of justice for victims of Jammeh's regime, which was notorious for arbitrary arrests, sexual violence and extrajudicial executions.
“The trial of Ousman Sonko is another major step in the search for justice for victims of brutal crimes and their families committed under Jammeh’s rule,” said Sirra Ndow, coordinator of the Jammeh2Justice campaign.
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| Some plaintiffs in the case against Gambian ex-minister Ousman Sonko attended the case in person © Elodie LE MAOU / AFP |
Philip Grant, executive director at TRIAL International, which filed a case in Switzerland against Sonko before his arrest, said he was "the highest-level former official to be tried under the principle of universal jurisdiction in Europe.”
Universal jurisdiction is a legal principle that allows national courts to prosecute serious crimes committed abroad, regardless of the nationality of the perpetrators or victims.
The trial of Sonko, which will take place at Switzerland's federal criminal court in southern Bellinzona, is expected to last until Jan. 30.
In November, a German court convicted a Gambian man, Bai Lowe, of murder and crimes against humanity for his role in the killing of government critics in Gambia. Lowe was a driver for a military unit that was deployed against Jammeh's opponents.
Sonko, who joined the Gambian army in 1988, was appointed commander of the State Guard in 2003, a position in which he was in charge of Jammeh's security, Swiss prosecutors said. He became inspector general of the Gambian police in 2005.
Sonko left Gambia for Europe in September 2016, a few months before Jammeh's government collapsed. Jammeh lost the 2016 presidential election to Adama Barrow, but refused to accept the result and tried to cling to power. He eventually fled the country after facing pressure from a regional military intervention.
Source:pulsehubs