Sonko from Gambia Appeals Swiss Conviction for Crimes Against Humanity

The former interior minister of The Gambia, Ousman Sonko, is appealing the ruling regarding the crimes he allegedly committed between 2000 and 2016.

A former Gambian minister appeared in a Swiss court on Monday to contest a conviction for crimes against humanity linked to ex-dictator Yahya Jammeh.

Ousman Sonko’s conviction for homicide, torture, and false imprisonment in May 2024 was a watershed moment, as he became the highest-ranking former official ever to be tried in Europe under universal jurisdiction, which permits the prosecution of the most serious crimes regardless of location.

According to witnesses, five of the ten Gambian plaintiffs involved in the case attended the Higher Appeals Chamber of the Federal Criminal Court located in the city of Bellinzona, where they were present with the defendant.

Sonko, who was interior minister until Jammeh dismissed him in 2016, is appealing the ruling on crimes he allegedly committed between 2000 and 2016.

In court on Monday, his lawyer Philippe Currat contended that numerous alleged acts occurred prior to the implementation of the pertinent Swiss legislation in 2011, asserting in a statement that the criteria for criminal prosecution are not satisfied.

The plaintiffs and the prosecution are appealing the ruling to extend his 20-year sentence to life and to include charges of sexual violence, following Sonko’s prior acquittal of rape.

Benoit Meystre, a legal adviser at TRIAL International, which filed the original complaint against Sonko and is supporting the plaintiffs, stated, “Sexual violence was a tool of repression in the Gambia, and that should be taken into account and recognized by the Court as such.”

The hearings are scheduled to proceed until at least April 17. A final appeal may be made against the appeal verdict, though it usually occurs without public hearings.