The Swiss Federal Criminal Court will begin the trial of former Gambian Interior Minister Ousman Sonko on January 8, 2024, and it will continue until January 30, 2024. Ousman Sonko is charged with several counts of crimes against humanity, which he is said to have committed while serving as Yahya Jammeh’s president. In January 2017, a criminal complaint was filed against Ousman Sonko by TRIAL International.
Swiss prosecutors have charged Ousman Sonko with various crimes, including the killing of a political opponent in 2000, sexual violence between 2000 and 2002, torture in 2006, and the murder of a politician in 2011. Sonko is also accused of co-perpetrating deprivation of liberty and torture.
The court sessions will be conducted in German. Other than when the defendant, the victims, and English-speaking witnesses take the stand, no interpretation will be offered. Trial International laments this ruling, which will make it more difficult for plaintiffs, reporters, and the Gambian community to follow and understand the proceedings in their entirety. Supporting the idea that “justice must not only be done but be seen to be done,” TRIAL International works to give victims and the impacted Gambian communities meaningful access to such a historic trial.
Nine litigants are going to make the long trip to Bellinzona to appear before the court. They are being supported by TRIAL International. Sadly, Nogoi Njie, the tenth victim catered for, unfortunately died in October 2023 as a result of the long-lasting effects of her abuse at the time of Yahya Jammeh’s rule. For those who were victims of the horrors perpetrated by Jammeh between 1994 and 2016, this trial offers a glimmer of hope.
Already, a former member of the “Junglers” paramilitary unit was sentenced to life imprisonment for crimes against humanity in Germany, while another member, Michael Correa, is set to stand trial in Denver, USA, in September 2024, facing charges of torture and conspiracy to commit torture.
“While the transitional justice process in The Gambia remains too slow, these trials in Germany and Switzerland are finally providing the closure that the victims have been waiting for for too long now,” said one of the plaintiffs, whose identity remains hidden at this stage. Indeed, a possible recognition of Ousman Sonko’s role in the abuses committed during Jammeh’s dictatorship will not only contribute to reducing impunity for the violations that took place in The Gambia during Mr. Jammeh’s regime but may also spur domestic prosecutions, propelling the transitional justice process initiated in 2017.
