Gambia: a former minister tried in Switzerland for crimes against humanity

Ten people became complainants, including eight “direct victims” and the daughter of a person who died in detention, detailed TRIAL International, the Swiss NGO which initiated the procedure.

The former minister under President Yahya Jammeh is being prosecuted for crimes against humanity linked to acts of torture, kidnapping, sexual violence and extrajudicial execution between 2000 and 2016.

The trial which will open in Switzerland on January 8 is expected to last approximately three weeks. Ousman Sonko was arrested in Bern, Switzerland, on January 26, 2017. He had requested asylum in Switzerland after being fired from his ministerial post, which he held for ten years until September 2016.

He will be tried because Swiss law recognizes universal jurisdiction for certain serious international crimes, regardless of where they were committed, the nationality of the suspects or that of the victims.

Ten people became complainants, including eight “direct victims” and the daughter of a person who died in detention, detailed TRIAL International, the Swiss NGO which initiated the procedure.

The Gambia, a small country in West Africa, was led for 22 years by Yahya Jammeh. He lives in exile in Equatorial Guinea after being defeated in the presidential election of December 2016.