Switzerland’s top criminal court has convicted a former interior minister of the Gambia for crimes against humanity during repression by the west African country’s security forces against opponents of its longtime dictator, a legal advocacy group said Wednesday.
This content was published on
2 minutes
AP
Español
es
Tribunal suizo condena a 20 años de prisión a exministro gambiano
Ousman Sonko, the Gambia’s interior minister from 2006 to 2016 under then-President Yahya Jammeh, was sentenced to 20 years in prison, Trial International said on the platform X.
The trial that began in January was seen by advocacy groups as an opportunity to reach a conviction under “universal jurisdiction,” which allows the prosecution of serious crimes committed abroad.
The verdict was read out in Switzerland’s Federal Criminal Court in Bellinzona, canton Ticino, on Wednesday.
Sonko applied for asylum in Switzerland in November 2016 and was arrested two months later.
The Swiss attorney general’s office said the indictment against Sonko, filed a year ago, covered alleged crimes during 16 years under Jammeh, whose rule was marked by arbitrary detention, sexual abuse and extrajudicial killings.
This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles.
If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.
External Content
Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Almost finished… We need to confirm your email address. To complete the subscription process, please click the link in the email we just sent you.
Hundreds of Saint Bernard dogs gather in Switzerland for world competition
This content was published on
Over a hundred Saint Bernards have descended on Martigny, in canton Valais to kick off the World Union of Saint Bernard Clubs competition.
Giacometti lamp tops million-franc mark in Geneva auction
This content was published on
A “Tête de femme” floor lamp by Swiss artist Alberto Giacometti topped the million-franc mark at a Piguet auction in Geneva.
UN rights expert criticises Swiss pressure in trade negotiations
This content was published on
The UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food has accused EFTA countries of pressuring Thailand and Malaysia in trade deals.
Switzerland gives CHF60 million to Ukraine for digitalisation
This content was published on
The Swiss government has agreed to give war-ravaged Ukraine CHF58.7 million ($65.5 million) towards the digitalisation of its public administration.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.