By Mariam Sankanu in Bellinzona, Switzerland and JFJ Correspondent in Banjul, The Gambia
The conviction and jailing of former Gambian minister Ousman Sonko for crimes against humanity have been widely hailed as a notable victory for international justice and the fight against impunity, not only in his home country but also everywhere else affected by atrocity crimes.
The case, which was tried before the Swiss Federal Criminal Court (FCC) in Bellinzona, Switzerland, is also seen as a major boost to the principle of universal jurisdiction, which seeks to hold accountable those responsible for grave crimes committed abroad.
The victims of some of the crimes Sonko was accused of committing in The Gambia during the reign of former President Yahya Jammeh welcomed the conclusion of the case with “great satisfaction”.
“It is a great day for international justice and it has set a precedent – that there is no safe haven for perpetrators of international crimes. Certainly this sends a clear message to Yaya Jammeh that one day, he will have his day in court,” said Sheriff Kijera, former chairman of the Gambia Centre for Victims of Human Rights Violations, also known as the Victims Centre.
The Gambia Press Union (GPU) welcomed the outcome of the trial, saying journalists suffered greatly during Sonko’s ministerial tenure.
GPU Secretary General Modou S. Joof said the verdict “…strongly reflects our wishes and aspirations for justice for dictatorship-era crimes committed against Gambian journalists, and all other victims of grave human rights violations.
He claimed that journalists suffered “some of the worst crimes” and recalled the torture of former The Independent newspaper journalists Madi Ceesay and Musa Saidykhan over their reporting of the 2006 coup attempt.
Universal jurisdiction
GPU President Muhammed S. Bah said the three universal jurisdiction cases involving Gambians abroad – in Germany, Switzerland, and the trial expected to start in September 2024 in the United States of America of former Jungler death squad member Michael Sang Correa – have brought hope to the Gambian victims of atrocity crimes.
He asked the Gambian government to be more proactive in bringing justice to the victims of Jammeh’s dictatorship.
“We urge the government to expedite the process of seeking justice for journalists and all other victims of gross human rights violations suffered during Jammeh’s 22-year dictatorship.”
Demba Ali Jawo, the current chairman of the Victims Centre, said the verdict should “…serve as a lesson to both serving and future public officials that justice will be served to those who violate the rights of the people, no matter how long it may take.”
Jawo was the GPU president when Ceesay and Saidykhan were arrested and tortured.
The plaintiffs’ lawyers and the activists involved in the case described the verdict as a success, although they added that they were disappointed that Sonko escaped answering some charges.
The former minister was found guilty of multiple counts of intentional homicide, multiple counts of false imprisonment and multiple counts of torture as crimes against humanity. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison, the highest under Swiss law, and ordered expelled from the country for a duration of 12 years.
However, the rape charges were “abandoned” because, according to the court, the cases presented were viewed as isolated incidents and did not show any connection to a systematic attack against a civilian population, and there was not enough evidence to show that there existed direct orders to rape people, as required to qualify as crimes against humanity. Nevertheless, the court noted that it was not disputing the fact that the crimes were committed.
ALSO READ: Forgotten Voices: Uganda’s Children Born of War Want to Belong
The rape cases were based on the allegations of the widow of one of Sonko’s murder victims, who testified in court, and another victim who did not publicly testify before the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC). The widow accused Sonko of raping her multiple times following the death of her husband, whose murder the former minister has been convicted of.
“We are very disappointed to see that the court has decided to discontinue the case concerning the SGBV-related charges. While it is important to highlight that the defendant was not acquitted but procedural reasons have led the judges to this conclusion, the decision is nonetheless another example of the widespread disregard for SGBV. Rather than acknowledging structural and systematic aspects of SGBV in The Gambia during the rule of Yahya Jammeh, the court deems the charges brought by my client against the defendant as isolated acts outside the scope of crimes against humanity – a position we strongly disagree with,” said Anninna Mullis, the widow’s lawyer.
Sexual violence
According to Fatou Baldeh, the founder and Chief Executive Director of Women in Liberation and Leadership (WILL), it is baffling that Sonko was charged for crimes that were committed when he was a minister, yet he was not convicted of sexual violence.
“I think this could really hold women back, women victims of sexual violence, as we move forward with the prosecution of other perpetrators, other named persons.”
“The conviction of Ousman Sonko, one of the pillars of Yahya Jammeh’s brutal regime, is a major step on the long road to justice for Jammeh’s victims. The long arm of the law is catching up with Yahya Jammeh’s accomplices all around the world, and hopefully will soon catch up with Jammeh himself,” said human rights lawyer Reed Brody.
“While the wheels of justice may turn slowly, this verdict is a clear indication that they do turn, and in due time, all those responsible for such crimes will be held responsible. This is a powerful precedent for accountability, regardless of one’s position or location. The implications resonate far beyond this case, signalling to perpetrators worldwide that justice will eventually catch up with them,” said Isatou Jammeh, a Gambian human rights activist.
Philip Grant, the director of Trial International, the Swiss organisation that initiated the case against Sonko, was optimistic that even though the former minister was not convicted of all the charges, the trial was a signal to the rest of the world that, social status notwithstanding, any perpetrator can be prosecuted under international law anywhere in the world.
“I think it will boost the chances that other prosecutions will go ahead, not only in The Gambia but also in other parts of the world. So it’s a good day for justice today.”
“In principle,” said Fanny De Weck, one of the plaintiff lawyers, “we are happy that Sonko has been found guilty and there are certain aspects of the judgement we still have to look at it in more detail and where we wish to have more.”
Although the Sonko case was welcomed as a beacon of hope for justice, Kijera warned that the principle of universal jurisdiction should not be used in a biased manner.
“I hope these efforts of international governments and Trial International will not be limited to pursuing Third World and African dictators. The long arm of justice must be extended in pursuing war criminals anywhere in the world,” he warned.
There are high expectations that the Sonko trial and the other two cases of universal jurisdiction involving Gambians – Bai L. in Germany and Michael Correa in USA – will inspire the Gambian government to speed up the country’s transitional justice and accountability processes.
Cherno Marenah, the Deputy Permanent Representative of The Gambia Mission in Geneva, seemed to hint at this when he commented on the case of the former minister.
“It’s a landmark case. It’s a landmark judgement and of course the process in The Gambia is ongoing. You also need to understand that the process in Switzerland started since 2017, when he was arrested. In The Gambia, we have a process too, which is the TRRC, which only finished its work in 2021. In 2022 and 2023, the process has been going on to establish a regional court to try all the crimes of the Jammeh era. We are hoping that before the end of this year, that process will culminate in the setting up of a court that is going to try all the Jammeh-era crimes in The Gambia.”
Ousman Sonko was one of the longest serving government officials in the Jammeh regime. He did not commit the crimes he has been convicted of alone. The charges, including murder, were committed along with others, some of whom are still serving in The Gambia government.
YOU MIGHT ALSO BE INTERESTED IN: Dying to tell the story: How war has affected the work of journalists in Ethiopia
The reading of the verdict attracted a bigger crowd than was the case during the trial, which started on January 8, 2024, with closing arguments ending on March, 8, 2024. Swiss journalists were also present for the occasion on that rainy Wednesday morning of May 15, 2024, a common weather phenomenon for Ticino, the Italian part of Switzerland, at that time of the month.
“I have done the job. It is no longer in my hands,” said Phillip Currat, Sonko’s lawyer before the judges spoke. “I don’t know what to expect. We don’t have a precedent for this case. It’s the first time we are trying the minister of another country, so I don’t know.”
The judgement
The bespectacled Sonko took his seat after sharing pleasantries with Marenah. He later kept himself busy reading an Islamic religious book as he waited for the three judges to take their seats.
In his corner were his daughter, Olimatou Sonko, on the defence bench, and his ex-wife, Njemeh Bah. His lawyer said their son had been expected to be present for the verdict but he could not get permission from school in time.
Sonko’s eyes were fixed on the judges as the president of the as he read out the judgement in German.
In the end, if the sentence in confirmed after the appeals are all exhausted, Sonko will serve about 13 years, with the time he has spent in detention deducted.
“The time served in police, pre-trial, and preventive detention before the date of judgement of a total of 2,667 days will be taken into account in the execution of the sentence,” said the court.
The former minister was ordered to pay compensation to the private claimants and the Swiss Federal Confederation for the expenses incurred in this trial, amounting to US$3.9 million.
Already, the CHF (Swiss franc) 14,413.30 that Sonko forfeited was given to claimants to cover civil claims.
According to the president of the court, cumulatively, Sonko would have spent 75 years and four months in prison, with Baba Jobe’s murder carrying the highest sentence of 15 years. But according to Swiss law, 25 years was the maximum sentence. The prosecutors had sought a life sentence.
‘Unfair’ trial
As would be expected, this judgement was a blow to the defence. Sonko’s daughter, Olimatou, who is part of his legal team, was not pleased with the outcome.
“I don’t want to say the trial was unfair but I feel that it was. There were no witnesses on our side. It seems like all the witnesses were there just for the victims. I don’t really get how that works. I don’t think that’s a fair trial because if you are having a trial, there should be witnesses from both sides. That’s what I see as a free trial,” she told journalists.
Currat was disappointed that the court rejected his client’s request for an investigation of his “unlawful” prison conditions.
“But the question of the condition of his detention, pre-trial detention, is something different,” the lawyer argued. “This is different from sentencing a crime.”
On the question of launching an appeal, the lawyer said: “We will analyse it [the decision of the court] once we have it in English so we can discuss the main issues with Sonko. It is up to him to decide if we are going to appeal or not.” Pressed further, he said there was highly likely that his client will file an appeal.
