Prosecutor demands life imprisonment for Sonko
Published: Monday, Mar 4th 2024, 18:10
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The federal prosecutor has requested a life sentence for the former Gambian interior minister. He should be found guilty of multiple qualified crimes against human rights.
For the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland (OAG), it is undisputed that Ousman Sonko is responsible for killings, torture, rape and multiple violations of sexual self-determination as qualified crimes against humanity.
The public prosecutor also demanded a 15-year deportation order - the maximum possible duration. In her plea, she demonstrated the extent to which Sonko, as a member of a collective of perpetrators, shared responsibility for the crimes. These had been committed as part of a systematic attack against the civilian population of The Gambia.
The public prosecutor described Sonko's culpability as serious on all counts. He had so far shown no remorse and vehemently denied any responsibility for all the acts. His behavior during the investigation was only superficially cooperative. He had made more than 50 complaints, all but one of which had been ignored. The public prosecutor considered his overall disruptive behavior to have increased the penalty.
Historical process
The prosecutor described the trial as historic because it was the first time that a former interior minister had been tried for crimes against humanity in Switzerland. Central legal questions have arisen that have yet to be clarified by the Federal Supreme Court.
Among other things, this concerns the amendment to the Swiss Criminal Code at the beginning of 2011, when the offense of crimes against humanity was introduced into the Swiss Criminal Code with Article 264a. Some of the crimes Sonko is accused of were committed before 2011, which raises the question of the applicability of the law.
The BA has divided the accused acts into five thematic complexes: The killing of a confidant of then President Yahya Jammeh in January 2000, the multiple rape and torture of the widow of the man killed, the torture of several people suspected of being involved in a coup attempt in March 2006, the killing of an ex-member of the National Assembly and the torture of participants at a political rally in April 2016.
Various functions
Sonko, now 55, is alleged to have been involved in these crimes in various functions. The public prosecutor explained what tasks and powers Sonko had in the respective functions and how he is alleged to have abused these as an accomplice together with other executives in the crimes charged.
Sonko joined the State Guard in 1995, later became its commander and was promoted to other posts. In 2005, then President Jammeh personally appointed him as the country's highest police officer. From November 2006, he was Minister of the Interior - until he was dismissed in September 2016 and fled to Switzerland via detours and applied for asylum here.
Sonko has denied any guilt in the proceedings so far. He also described himself as innocent in the main proceedings before the criminal division, which began in January. (Case SK.2023.23)
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