Trial against Gambian former interior minister Sonko begins in January
Published: Monday, Nov 6th 2023, 14:09
Updated At: Tuesday, Nov 7th 2023, 00:54
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The trial of former Gambian Interior Minister Ousman Sonko, who has been charged with crimes against humanity, will begin on January 8, 2024. The trial is expected to last the whole of January, the court announced on Monday.
The Federal Criminal Court in Bellinzona thus confirmed a report by the non-governmental organizations Trial International and Amnesty International on Friday. The court will send the indictment to the accredited federal court correspondents in the first week of December.
The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland (OAG) filed charges against Sonko in April after a six-year investigation. Before his arrest in 2017, Sonko had lived in Lyss BE for several months as an asylum seeker. He was Interior Minister of the Republic of the Gambia from 2006 to 2016.
The BA accuses him of having supported and participated in systematic and extensive attacks on government opponents in various state functions between 2000 and 2016. The crimes against humanity were committed as part of the violent repression by the armed forces of Gambian President Yahya Jammeh.
Crimes against humanity
The defendant is accused, among other things, of being involved in, ordering, enabling and/or failing to prevent extrajudicial executions, torture, rape and illegal detention in connection with five incidents between 2000 and 2016.
The repression was directed in particular against political opponents, journalists or people suspected of being coup plotters. The current president, Adama Barrow, overthrew the dictatorial Jammeh in 2016 and sent him into exile in Equatorial Guinea. Barrow was confirmed in office in 2021 in elections that were described as fair.
According to the UN Development Program, The Gambia is one of the 20 poorest countries in the world. It has a good 20 million inhabitants and is around a quarter of the size of Switzerland.
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