The Gambia’s minister of justice, Mr. Dawda Jallow, has affirmed that the country’s administration is in communication with the Swiss authorities regarding Ousman Sonko. He did, however, clarify that the Gambia has not submitted an extradition request to have the former minister sent back to the country.
The former interior minister’s sentencing is scheduled to take place at the Federal Criminal Court in Bellinzona, Switzerland, on Wednesday, May 15, 2024, according to a statement released by the court on Friday, April 19. This came after an arduous trial that started in January of this year and had two adjournments before the verdict.

Before Sonko was formally charged last year, the Swiss Federal Prosecutor’s office conducted a seven-year “thorough” investigation into him for crimes against humanity, human rights abuses, false detention, sexual violence, and degrading treatment.
Investigations under the Swiss legal system can take a long time, but trials can happen quickly, particularly if the court is convinced by the evidence that a trial is necessary.

This reporter was informed by the Gambia’s Minister of Justice, Dawda Jallow, on Thursday, April 18, 2024, that no request for Sonko’s extradition had been sent to Switzerland.

Mr. Jallow stated, “We haven’t made any such request, but we are in contact with the Swiss authorities.”

life in prison

The Federal Prosecutor has asked for Mr. Ousman Sonko to be imprisoned for life on several charges of violating human rights and other crimes that he was either directly involved in, supervising, or watching others conduct.

Mr. Sonko might never see or set foot on The Gambia again if he is found guilty of these offences. He was detained for seven years as investigations into his offences during his tenure in Yahya Jammeh’s administration from 2000 to 2016 were being carried out by federal prosecutors.
Mr. Ousman Sonko responded in the affirmative when the presiding judge asked him during the January trial if he would be ready to go back to the Gambia at any time. What the three judges on the Federal Criminal Court of Switzerland’s panel will conclude regarding Sonko is unclear, though.

When questioned about the potential extradition, a Swiss court source stated, “I don’t think that Switzerland would (or actually could, from an international law perspective) agree to subject Sonko to Mile 2 prison conditions.”

Again, extradition is governed by certain guidelines.

Sonko must demonstrate that he would be “a real risk” in order for the European Commission on Human Rights’ Article 3 to apply to his extradition to the Gambia (which forbids torture and other cruel treatment). He would be eligible for a form of “subsidiary protection status” as a result. But throughout the trial, Ousman Sonko refrained from bringing up these points in court.

A foreign national who is found guilty of a major crime in Switzerland faces automatic expulsion from the country for a specified period of time, as stipulated under the country’s penal legislation. Here, this would undoubtedly be the case. However, the court must also take into account any factors that would make an expulsion illegal or irrational—under Article 3 of the ECHR, for instance—as our source in the Swiss legal system clarifies.
Before being arrested in 2016, Mr. Sonko had applied for refuge in Switzerland after Jammeh fired him as Interior Minister of The Gambia, forcing him to leave the country. Before the application could be accepted or denied, he was detained. In the infamous letter that was produced as evidence in court, he was cited as saying that Yahya Jammeh had given him instructions to shoot at protestors in April 2016, but he had refused.

Ineffective asylum

Our source claims that the asylum application and the criminal trial for crimes committed in the Gambia are two different matters. “The criminal procedure prevented Sonko’s asylum procedure from proceeding. According to our source, “the refugee convention bars those who committed crimes against humanity from refugee status in Switzerland, therefore if he is found guilty, he will be denied.

Therefore, Mr. Ousman Sonko is not protected against expulsion or deportation under Swiss refugee law if he is not recognised as a refugee.

However, once more, the court’s ruling on May 15, 2024, will decide Mr. Sonko’s future course of action and whether or not he returns to the Gambia.