\n A Swiss federal court on Wednesday sentenced Gambian ex-interior minister Ousman Sonko to 20 years in prison for crimes against humanity committed under the regime of former dictator Yahya Jammeh.\n<\/p>\n
\n Sonko, 55, is the highest-ranking official convicted in Europe under universal jurisdiction for the most serious crimes.\n<\/p>\n
\n He was found guilty of \"multiple counts of intentional homicide, multiple counts of torture and false imprisonment, each as a crime against humanity\" committed between 2000 and 2016, a court statement said.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"Sonko committed these crimes... as part of a systematic attack against the civilian population.\"\n<\/p>\n
\n He will be expelled from Switzerland for 12 years once the 20-year sentence is served, and Sonko must also pay compensation to the civil claimants, the court said.\n<\/p>\n
\n State prosecutor Sabrina Beyeler said they were \"very satisfied\" with the verdict. Sonko's lawyer Philippe Currat said his client, who denied the charges, would \"probably\" appeal.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"This verdict comes at a pivotal time in our history as the country undergoes a transition from an autocratic to a democratic governance system,\" the Gambian justice ministry said.\n<\/p>\n
\n - Universal jurisdiction -\n<\/p>\n
\n Sonko was tried under the principle of universal jurisdiction, which allows countries to prosecute crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide regardless of where they were committed.\n<\/p>\n
\n The NGO Trial International -- which filed the complaint leading to Sonko's arrest -- said the conviction was \"historic\", while Human Rights Watch called it \"monumental\".\n<\/p>\n
\n Trial International's executive director Philip Grant said the verdict \"sends a strong signal to high-ranking perpetrators around the world: justice can catch up with you\".\n<\/p>\n
\n In Gambia, Samba Jawo of the International Centre for Transitional Justice said that the conviction is a \"relief for Gambians, especially the victims\".\n<\/p>\n
\n Sonko has been in Swiss custody since his arrest in January 2017 after applying for asylum following his sacking as a minister. His time already served in custody will be taken into account in his sentence.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"The conviction of Ousman Sonko, one of the pillars of Yahya Jammeh's brutal regime, is a major step on the long road to justice for Jammeh's victims,\" said lawyer Reed Brody, a member of the International Commission of Jurists.\n<\/p>\n
\n Brody works with Jammeh's victims and followed the court case in Bellinzona.\n<\/p>\n
\n - String of convictions -\n<\/p>\n
\n The trial in Bellinzona, southern Switzerland, was heard in January and March.\n<\/p>\n
\n Sonko's lawyers had argued that he should not have been tried on any counts predating 2011 when universal jurisdiction came into force in Switzerland.\n<\/p>\n
\n The court ruled that Sonko, with others, intentionally killed a soldier suspected of a coup; tortured army personnel, politicians and journalists and falsely imprisoned them in connection with a failed coup attempt; murdered a former member of parliament; and tortured several opposition members.\n<\/p>\n
\n Charges relating to alleged rape as a crime against humanity were dropped as the court could not establish an attack on the civilian population, meaning Switzerland did not have jurisdiction.\n<\/p>\n
\n The court said Sonko was a \"close confidant\" of Jammeh, who ruled The Gambia from 1994 to 2016.\n<\/p>\n
\n Sonko was accused of committing the crimes first within the army, then as inspector general of the police, and finally as the interior minister from 2006 to 2016.\n<\/p>\n
\n - Jammeh and his 'henchmen' -\n<\/p>\n
\n Fatoumatta Sandeng Darboe, the daughter of Solo Sandeng who was tortured and killed, said: \"We are actually happy that the responsibility of Ousman Sonko in all of what has happened in The Gambia... is put out there.\"\n<\/p>\n
\n Cherno Marenah, The Gambia's deputy permanent representative in Geneva, said: \"We are quite satisfied that due process was followed and that at the end of the day, justice has been served.\"\n<\/p>\n
\n Currat said Sonko would not be commenting, having been unable to understand the verdict in German without translation.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"The long arm of the law is catching up with Yahya Jammeh's accomplices all around the world, and hopefully will soon catch up with Jammeh himself,\" Brody said.\n<\/p>\n
\n In 2022, the Gambian government endorsed the recommendations of a commission that looked into the atrocities perpetrated during the Jammeh era.\n<\/p>\n
\n The authorities agreed to prosecute 70 people, starting with Jammeh, who went into exile in Equatorial Guinea in January 2017.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A Swiss federal court on Wednesday sentenced Gambian ex-interior minister Ousman Sonko to 20 years in prison for crimes against humanity committed under the regime of former dictator Yahya Jammeh. Sonko, 55, is the highest-ranking official convicted in Europe under universal jurisdiction for the most serious crimes. He was found guilty of \"multiple counts of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":60,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[553],"tags":[],"ji_location":[],"class_list":["post-131910","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-live-feed"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n