The Federal Criminal Court in Bellinzona, southern Switzerland, has handed down a 20-year prison sentence to Ousman Sonko, the former interior minister of The Gambia. This ruling, delivered on Wednesday, marks a significant moment in the pursuit of justice for crimes committed during former President Yahya Jammeh’s 22-year reign over the country.
Sonko, who held the position of interior minister from 2006 to 2016, was found guilty of intentional homicide, torture, and false imprisonment. These charges encompassed alleged atrocities committed during 16 years under Jammeh’s regime, which ended in 2017.
The trial, which commenced in January, saw Sonko facing accusations of supporting, participating in, and failing to prevent attacks against political opponents in The Gambia. While he was acquitted of rape charges, Sonko faced nine counts of crimes against humanity. His asylum application in Switzerland in November 2016 led to his arrest two months later, initiating legal proceedings against him.
Rights groups have lauded the verdict, obtained under the principle of “universal jurisdiction,” allowing nations to prosecute crimes against humanity, war crimes, and genocide regardless of where they occurred. TRIAL International, an advocacy group instrumental in Sonko’s arrest, hailed the ruling as a “resounding message against impunity.”
Reed Brody, an American human rights lawyer present at the trial, emphasized the significance of holding Jammeh’s accomplices accountable, expressing hope for justice to reach Jammeh himself, who currently resides in exile in Equatorial Guinea.
Under the universal jurisdiction principle, Switzerland has the authority to try individuals accused of the most serious crimes, irrespective of their nationality, as long as they are present within Swiss territory. Sonko’s case represents the second instance of such prosecution since Switzerland adopted this principle in 2011, the first being the trial of Alieu Kosiah, a Liberian strongman sentenced to 20 years in June 2021 for crimes committed during the Liberian civil wars.
Jammeh’s rule in The Gambia was characterized by widespread human rights violations, including arbitrary detention, sexual abuse, and extrajudicial killings. His regime relied on allies in official government positions to carry out these abuses, with entities like The Junglers, a death squad, systematically targeting opponents.
Sonko, a former military officer who rose to prominence within Jammeh’s regime, held key security positions, including commander of the State Guard and inspector general of the Gambian police. He was removed from his role as interior minister shortly before Jammeh’s departure from the country following the 2016 elections, which saw Adama Barrow emerge victorious and Jammeh’s eventual ousting by ECOWAS troops.
