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German court upholds conviction of Gambian national for crimes against humanity
29.11.2024 - (Last modified: 03.12.2024)
Frequently asked questions and answers
1. Who is Michael Correa and what are the charges against him?
Michael Correa, a Gambian citizen, will stand trial in September 2024 for allegedly torturing people in The Gambia in 2006. He is accused of being part of the “Junglers”, a death squad that committed human rights abuses at the direction of former President Y...
7 March 2024 – Day 17 continued: Rebuttal of the defense
08.03.2024 - (Last modified: 05.02.2026)
This article is part of the daily summaries of the trial of Ousman Sonko, former Interior Minister of The Gambia, which took place between January and March 2024 in Bellinzona, Switzerland. During this time, TRIAL International did its best to capture the most important points discussed during the hearings and cannot be held responsible for any errors...
7 March 2024 – Day 17: Round of rebuttals: The Prosecutor and the plaintiffs’ counsels
07.03.2024 - (Last modified: 05.02.2026)
This article is part of the daily summaries of the trial of Ousman Sonko, former Interior Minister of The Gambia, which took place between January and March 2024 in Bellinzona, Switzerland. During this time, TRIAL International did its best to capture the most important points discussed during the hearings and cannot be held responsible for any err...
6 March 2024 – day 16: Closing arguments of the defense
07.03.2024 - (Last modified: 05.02.2026)
This article is part of the daily summaries of the trial of Ousman Sonko, former Interior Minister of The Gambia, which took place between January and March 2024 in Bellinzona, Switzerland. During this time, TRIAL International did its best to capture the most important points discussed during the hearings and cannot be held responsible for any errors...
5-6 March 2024 – Days 15 & 16: Closing arguments on the events of 14 April 2016
07.03.2024 - (Last modified: 05.02.2026)
This article is part of the daily summaries of the trial of Ousman Sonko, former Interior Minister of The Gambia, which took place between January and March 2024 in Bellinzona, Switzerland. During this time, TRIAL International did its best to capture the most important points discussed during the hearings and cannot be held responsible for any err...
5 March 2024 – Day 15: Further closing arguments related to the events of 2006
05.03.2024 - (Last modified: 05.02.2026)
This article is part of the daily summaries of the trial of Ousman Sonko, former Interior Minister of The Gambia, which took place between January and March 2024 in Bellinzona, Switzerland. During this time, TRIAL International did its best to capture the most important points discussed during the hearings and cannot be held responsible for any err...
4-5 March 2024 – Days 14 & 15: The closing arguments of the legal representative of the...
05.03.2024 - (Last modified: 05.02.2026)
This article is part of the daily summaries of the trial of Ousman Sonko, former Interior Minister of The Gambia, which took place between January and March 2024 in Bellinzona, Switzerland. During this time, TRIAL International did its best to capture the most important points discussed during the hearings and cannot be held responsible for any err...
4 March 2024 – Day 14: The Prosecutor’s closing arguments
05.03.2024 - (Last modified: 19.01.2026)
Part 3: The sentencing
After pleading Ousman Sonko’s responsibility for each and every charge, the prosecutor went on to discuss sentencing.
According to Swiss law:
The sentence is to be assessed according to the culpability of the offender, which is to be determined on the basis of the severity of the violation or the endangerment of the legal interest...
4 March 2024 – Day 14: The Prosecutor’s closing arguments
04.03.2024 - (Last modified: 19.01.2026)
Part 2: The charges
After describing the Gambian context and Ousman Sonko’s knowledge of the generalized and systematic attacks against the civilian population since the early years of Yahya Jammeh’s presidency, the Prosecutor addressed the Court on the accused’s criminal responsibility for the various specific crimes with which he is charged.
Murder of a former m...
4 March 2024 – Day 14: The Prosecutor’s closing arguments
04.03.2024 - (Last modified: 19.01.2026)
Part 1: The context
After having formally opened the session, the Court rejected the defense’s request to postpone the closing arguments to April 2024 in order for him to get more time to prepare his arguments and review the case in light of very recent case law.
The Court then gave the floor to the Prosecutor
“A system that must take life must first give justi...
23-24 January 2024 – Days 12-13: Evidence requests, procedural decision and trial suspe...
25.01.2024 - (Last modified: 19.01.2026)
The 23rd of January 2024 marked the termination of all the parties’ hearings. In accordance with the procedural code, the parties were then given the opportunity to request additional evidence.
The Prosecutor and the plaintiffs recalled that several persons could still be heard in order to support the existence of a system set up to repress the civilian populat...
