What We Do

©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...

A message from Ingrid Beauquis, Director of Fundraising and Communications If you’ve been following us for a while, you have probably noticed that we often refer to the principle of universal jurisdiction, but what does it actually mean? Universal jurisdiction is a legal principle that allows - and sometimes requires - any State to exercise jurisdiction over s...

The trial of Ousman Sonko, former Gambian Minister of Interior, will open on 8 January 2024 before the Swiss Federal Criminal Court (FCC). Ousman Sonko is accused of multiple counts of crimes against humanity, allegedly committed between 2000 and 2016, during the rule of former Gambian dictator Yahya Jammeh. This will be the second trial for crimes against human...

Who is Bai L. and what are the charges against him? Bai L. is a 48-year-old Gambian citizen who is alleged to have been a member of the “Junglers” death squad, a paramilitary unit also known as the “Patrol Team” created by the former Gambian President Yahya Jammeh. According to the indictment, “the aim of [the Junglers’] operations was to intimidate the Gam...