Swiss Court Sentences Former Gambian Minister to 20 Years in Jail

A former Gambian minister, Ousman Sonko, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison by a Swiss court for crimes against humanity.

Sonko fled to Switzerland in 2016, just before Gambian President Yahya Jammeh was ousted from power following his refusal to accept electoral defeat. Jammeh’s government faced accusations of numerous human rights violations.

Upon presentation of evidence by non-governmental organizations detailing atrocities against Jammeh’s political opponents, Sonko was apprehended.

Despite Sonko’s defense claiming he was not accountable for the alleged crimes, the 55-year-old former interior minister was found guilty on Wednesday, May 15 2024 of intentional homicide, torture, and false imprisonment. However, he was acquitted of rape charges.

The ruling was issued by the Swiss Federal Criminal Court in Bellinzona, and Sonko has the option to appeal.

The case was tried in Switzerland under the principle of universal jurisdiction, allowing countries to prosecute individuals for crimes committed elsewhere. Sonko is the highest-ranking government official in Europe ever to be prosecuted under this principle.

Philip Grant, the head of the organization that initiated the complaint leading to Sonko’s arrest, emphasized that the verdict sends a strong message against impunity, asserting that minister-level perpetrators are now accountable to justice.

Swiss investigators conducted interviews with numerous alleged victims and witnesses in The Gambia for the trial, which commenced in January of this year.

During Jammeh’s regime, The Gambia was marred by widespread abuses, including forced disappearances and extrajudicial killings, according to Human Rights Watch.

Sonko, considered Jammeh’s right-hand man, served as interior minister, overseeing security services, including the alleged involvement with a paramilitary group known as “the Junglers.”

After fleeing to Switzerland and seeking asylum, Sonko was arrested in January 2017. Apart from Switzerland, other nations are pursuing cases against former members of Jammeh’s regime.

In October, Germany sentenced Bai Lowe, a former member of “the Junglers,” to life imprisonment for crimes against humanity. Similarly, in September of this year, a court in Colorado, USA, will try an alleged former member of the same group.

Although The Gambia has initiated its transitional justice process to address abuses during Jammeh’s rule, human rights organizations criticize its slow progress.