This week, Switzerland’s Federal Criminal Court sentenced a former Gambian interior minister to 20 years in prison for multiple crimes against humanity, reported RTS. The ruling is historic. It is the first time a European court has convicted and sentenced someone for crimes committed against humanity outside Europe.
Ousman Sonko came to Switzerland as an asylum seeker in 2016. Until his arrest in January 2017, he lived freely in an asylum centre in Bern. Since then he has been held in custody.
Switzerland’s federal prosecutor’s office accused the ex-minister of being jointly responsible for killings, torture, rape and multiple violations of sexual self-determination in his respective leadership positions. In one case, he is accused of raping the widow of a slain military member numerous times.
Between January 2000 and September 2016, torture and sexual crimes against journalists and members of the political opposition were allegedly carried out in Gambia by the paramilitary unit Junglers on the orders of those in charge, including the defendant. Sonko is said to have committed most of the crimes in collaboration with the then President of the West African country, Yahya Jammeh, as well as senior members of the security forces and prison services.
The ex-minister repeatedly denied responsibility for the crimes during the main trial, denying having any authority over the Junglers. He says he knew nothing about the alleged torture and only found out about it in Switzerland.
This week, the court in Bellinzona found Sonko guilty of multiple intentional homicides, multiple crimes of deprivation of liberty and multiple cases of torture. In addition to a 20 year prison sentence, the court ordered him to be expelled from the country for twelve years.
The trial is the first time a former minister has been put on trial for crimes against humanity in Switzerland. Legal questions surround the application of the article of Switzerland’s criminal code used in this trial. Ultimately, the federal court will also need to rule on this.
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