Gambiaj.com – (BELLINZONA, Switzerland) – The Swiss Federal Criminal Court has ruled that it has jurisdiction over all counts in the appeal case of former Gambian Interior Minister Ousman Sonko, rejecting a series of preliminary objections raised by the defense and allowing the appeal proceedings to move forward.
The decision was delivered after three days of hearings at the court in Bellinzona, where Sonko’s legal team challenged Switzerland’s authority to prosecute alleged crimes committed between 2000 and 2006 during the rule of former Gambian president Yahya Jammeh.
Defense lawyers had argued that Swiss courts lacked jurisdiction over the alleged acts and requested the dismissal of certain appeals filed by victims. They also asked the court to order a rereading of the more than 100-page indictment.
Prosecutors and lawyers representing victims opposed those requests, insisting the case should proceed in full. The appeal court sided with that position, rejecting all preliminary motions and confirming its authority to examine the case.
Appeal Court Reopens Question of Rape as Crimes Against Humanity
In a significant development, the Court of Appeal also declared itself competent to review rape allegations that had been dismissed during the 2024 trial.
During the initial proceedings, the lower court ruled that alleged rapes committed against two women did not constitute crimes against humanity and therefore fell outside its jurisdiction under universal jurisdiction rules.
Both women appealed the decision, arguing that the alleged acts formed part of a broader pattern of abuses against civilians.
The appeal court has now agreed to examine the issue on its merits, meaning judges will assess whether the alleged rapes can legally be classified as crimes against humanity and therefore prosecuted in Switzerland under the principle of universal jurisdiction.
During the first-instance trial, one of the plaintiffs, Binta Jamba, testified that she had been raped and tortured repeatedly over several years. However, the court at the time ruled that the alleged acts were individual crimes not sufficiently linked to a widespread or systematic attack against civilians.
With all preliminary objections dismissed, the appeal proceedings will now move into the next phase, during which the court is expected to hear witnesses and examine the substance of the charges against Sonko.
Sonko was convicted in 2024 by the Swiss Federal Criminal Court for crimes against humanity related to acts of torture and unlawful detention committed during the Jammeh era. Both the prosecution and several victims later filed appeals, leading to the current proceedings before the court’s appeals chamber.
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