Ousman Sonko will stand trial in Switzerland for crimes against humanity in a landmark case in which a serial rape victim will testify after a multi-decade wait for justice.
According to the Swiss advocacy group TRIAL International, which filed the case against him, former Interior Minister Ousman Sonko will become the highest-ranking official to be tried in Europe under the principle of universal jurisdiction, which allows grave crimes to be prosecuted anywhere.
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Nine Gambian plaintiffs will go to Switzerland for the trial at the Federal Criminal Court in Bellinzona, planned for January 8-30, in a case that rights campaigners regard as securing worldwide accountability for the greatest atrocities.
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Sonko, 54, is accused of murder, several rapes, and torture between 2000 and 2016 in Switzerland's second-ever prosecution for crimes against humanity. He disputes the allegations.
"It has been a long period of waiting, waiting with anger, anxiety. But I am very optimistic now and I feel so happy. I am smelling justice," said Madi Ceesay, a 67-year-old plaintiff who says he was detained and tortured under Sonko.
Philippe Currat, the defendant's lawyer, intends to urge the court to dismiss the case, claiming difficulties with the investigations and hearings.
"Since the beginning I have been stupefied by how this file has been handled," he told Reuters, saying some of the evidence in the indictment was based on "secret" hearings in Gambia and interviewees had not been informed of their rights.
Sonko, 54, was detained in Switzerland in early 2017 while seeking asylum. Jammeh's 22-year harsh dictatorship came to an end in January 2017 when he was forced to flee after losing an election.
Sonko might face life in prison as the maximum penalty.
Current claims that his treatment in Swiss prisons was brutal, with him being refused food and receiving inadequate medical care.
Fatoumatta Sandeng, the daughter of Solo Sandeng, a Gambian opposition activist who was assassinated in detention in 2016, said she is ready to look Sonko in the eyes in court. "If we don't hold people accountable, things like this will keep happening in Gambia, in Africa, all over the world," she said.
