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In accordance with the procedural code, Ousman Sonko was given the opportunity to address the Court before it began its deliberations. In particular, he stated in English that he regretted that the Court did not provide simultaneous interpretation of the closing arguments of the other parties, as he was not able to understand what had was argued. For this re...

The defense argued that the Prosecutor had failed to make a distinction that was, however, quite clear from the record, but also from the work of the TRRC: on the one hand, there were the powers that were the sole responsibility of the President, namely the Gambian Armed Forces and consequently the Junglers that emerged from them, as well as the NIA. On the other hand...

In accordance with the code of criminal procedure, the parties were allowed to provide rebuttal arguments. “Ousman Sonko, the second most influential person from the reign of Yahya Jammeh, is on trial. There is no question that Yahya Jammeh and all his supporters should be prosecuted and brought to justice for the crimes they have committed against the Ga...

Disclaimer: The following highlight aims to objectively report the main arguments presented by the defense of Ousman Sonko in its closing arguments. TRIAL International does not endorse the following statements. The organization recalls that it does its best to summarize as accurately as possible what was said during the trial and cannot be held responsible fo...

(8-12 January 2024, Federal Criminal Court, Bellinzona, Switzerland) The trial of Ousman Sonko opened on 8 January 2024 before the Swiss Federal Criminal Court (FCC). A panel of three judges is examining the former Gambian Minister of Interior’s responsibility over the numerous crimes against humanity that he is accused of having committed between 2000 and 2016, unde...

(acts of torture, false imprisonment and sexual violence committed as crimes against humanity) As part of an attempted coup d'état in March 2006, Ousman Sonko is being accused, as an accomplice of a group of perpetrators, of having tortured various people, including members of the army, politicians and journalists, of having illegally deprived them of their free...

(acts of torture, false imprisonment and sexual violence committed as crimes against humanity) As part of an attempted coup d'état in March 2006, Ousman Sonko is being accused, as an accomplice of a group of perpetrators, of having tortured various people, including members of the army, politicians and journalists, of having illegally deprived them of their f...

©TRIAL International / Swiss Federal Criminal Court in Bellinzona.   The proceedings resumed at 1 PM sharp with the Court’s reading of its decision on the preliminary questions discussed during the first day. Read our recap for day two. The Court announced that the ruling will not be translated into English. On the arguments made by t...

©TRIAL International / The Swiss Federal Criminal Court in Bellinzona The trial of Ousman Sonko opened today, 8 January 2024, at 9:00 AM before the Swiss Federal Criminal Court, where three judges will be examining the former Gambian Minister of Interior’s responsibility over the numerous crimes against humanity that he is accused of having committed betw...