Ousman Sonko, the former interior minister of the Gambia, will stay behind bars until his trial for crimes against humanity begins on January 8, 2024. In a ruling made public on Monday, the Swiss Federal Criminal Court (TPF) has also decided so.

Today’s Court publication confirms that on November 15, Ousman Sonko’s appeal was really dismissed at a hearing. The Public Ministry of the Swiss Confederation (MPC) filed an indictment at the Criminal Court, raising a high presumption of guilt, which the Court confirms increases the likelihood that Ousman Sonko will evade Swiss jurisdiction. This is stated in the decision that was released today.

Soon after his arrest in January 2017, Ousman Sonko, the right hand of former Gambian dictator Yahya Jammeh, was detained. His pre-trial custody has been continuously extended and commuted to incarceration for security grounds since his indictment. The former Gambian executioner of Yahya Jammeh’s nefarious missions lodged many petitions challenging his imprisonment. All of them were discarded.

Respect for proportionality

Despite Sonko’s lengthy imprisonment, the Swiss Federal Court believes that the principle of proportionality is upheld by keeping him remanded. The penalty against Sonko might be as long as ten years, as per a Federal Court (TF) decision that is referenced by the Swiss principle of proportionality. Ousman Sonko contends that the indictment submitted in April to the Criminal Court was returned to the MPC for completion in the appeal that was denied and made public today. He claimed that this is sufficient evidence of a “misdeed and a lack of neutrality of the criminal authorities,” who are allegedly acting “against him.”

The finished indictment is “arbitrary, partial, and written with ill faith,” according to Ousman Sonko.

Since determining whether the indictment is lawful is outside the purview of the appeals process, the Court declined to address the core of Ousmane Sonko’s criticisms. The Bellinzona municipality’s judges deem it appropriate to prolong Ousman’s custody until the pretrial remand threshold, or until April 14th, 2024, at the latest.