Swiss police detained former Gambian Interior Minister Ousman Sonko near the Swiss capital of Berne on Thursday, newspaper Berner Zeitung said on its website, citing police. Swiss television programme Rundschau reported on Wednesday that Sonko, who had been interior minister under ousted Gambian leader Yahya Jammeh, had been living in a home for asylum seekers near Berne for over two months.

Start the conversation, or Read more at The Star Online. </s> Switzerland on Thursday detained former Gambian interior minister Ousman Sonko, who is accused of committing grave abuses under the regime of ousted president Yahya Jammeh.

The arrest, confirmed by Swiss prosecutors, comes as The Gambia prepared to welcome their new president Adama Barrow, who had fled to Senegal after beating Jammeh in a landmark election that sparked a political crisis.

Sonko had been one of Jammeh’s top allies, serving in his presidential guard before leading the interior ministry from 2006 to 2016.

Jammeh sacked him in September and Sanko fled to Sweden where his request for asylum was rejected.

Sonko was detained in the Swiss capital Bern following a complaint filed by rights group TRIAL.

“He will be interrogated soon,” Amael Gschwind, a spokesman for Bern prosecutors told AFP, confirming the arrest.

TRIAL, which campaigns for the Swiss judicial system to act on crimes committed abroad, described Sonko as one of Jammeh’s “strongmen” and said he must have been aware of the violations committed under the fallen authoritarian regime.

“Sonko could not have ignored the large-scale torture that political opponents, journalists and human rights defenders suffered”, said Benedict de Moerloose of TRIAL’s criminal law division.

According to TRIAL, Sonko arrived in Switzerland in November and applied for asylum.

It was not immediately clear where he had lived between his arrival and his arrest.

TRIAL urged Switzerland to move forward with prosecution, suggesting it could give positive momentum to the unprecedented political developments underway in The Gambia.

“The crimes of Jammeh’s government have never been judged, and torturers walk free. At the time Gambia is preparing for a democratic transition, these developments send a strong message of hope,” the rights group said in a statement.

Jammeh refused to step down after his election loss to Barrow, but was ultimately forced to quit power and flee to Equatorial Guinea amid strong regional and international pressure.

Residents of The Gambia, a country of roughly two million people, were anxiously awaiting Barrow’s arrival which will cap the first-ever democratic transition of power in the nation’s history. </s> Geneva - Switzerland on Thursday detained former Gambian interior minister Ousman Sonko, who is accused of committing grave abuses under the regime of ousted president Yahya Jammeh.

The arrest, confirmed by Swiss prosecutors, comes as The Gambia prepared to welcome their new president Adama Barrow, who had fled to Senegal after beating Jammeh in a landmark election that sparked a political crisis.

Sonko had been one of Jammeh's top allies, serving in his presidential guard before leading the interior ministry from 2006 to 2016.

Jammeh sacked him in September and Sanko fled to Sweden where his request for asylum was rejected.

Sonko was detained in the Swiss capital Bern following a complaint filed by rights group TRIAL.

"He will be interrogated soon," Amael Gschwind, a spokesperson for Bern prosecutors told AFP, confirming the arrest.

TRIAL, which campaigns for the Swiss judicial system to act on crimes committed abroad, described Sonko as one of Jammeh's "strongmen" and said he must have been aware of the violations committed under the fallen authoritarian regime.

"Sonko could not have ignored the large-scale torture that political opponents, journalists and human rights defenders suffered", said Benedict de Moerloose of TRIAL's criminal law division.

According to TRIAL, Sonko arrived in Switzerland in November and applied for asylum.

It was not immediately clear where he had lived between his arrival and his arrest.

TRIAL urged Switzerland to move forward with prosecution, suggesting it could give positive momentum to the unprecedented political developments underway in The Gambia.

"The crimes of Jammeh's government have never been judged, and torturers walk free. At the time Gambia is preparing for a democratic transition, these developments send a strong message of hope," the rights group said in a statement.

Jammeh refused to step down after his election loss to Barrow, but was ultimately forced to quit power and flee to Equatorial Guinea amid strong regional and international pressure.

Residents of The Gambia, a country of roughly two million people, were anxiously awaiting Barrow's arrival which will cap the first-ever democratic transition of power in the nation's history. </s> Former Gambian Minister of the Interior Ousman Sonko has been arrested in Switzerland for crimes against humanity, alleged while he served under 22-year leader Yahya Jammeh.

Sonko was arrested as Gambia welcomed the arrival of Adama Barrow, Jammeh's successor and Gambia's first democratically elected president since independence, following a weeks' long political crisis.

Sonko directed Jammeh's feared security services, and served in the former leader's presidential guard, before heading the interior ministry from 2006 to 2016.

Swiss prosecutor Christof Scheurer told AFP that Sonko was being investigated under article 264a of Switzerland's criminal code, which pertains to crimes against humanity.

"He will be interrogated soon," Amael Gschwind, a spokesman for the prosecutor's office in Bern was quoted as saying.

The Gambia was plunged into political uncertainty in December when Jammeh refused to step down after losing a presidential election. Barrow, who led a broad opposition coalition to defeat the incumbent, was forced into exile in neighbouring Senegal and was inaugurated at Gambia's embassy in Dakar.

Jammeh, who crushed political opposition against him, and operated a police state over his decades-long rule, only agreed to step down following an intervention by the West African regional body of states. The military operation to force Jammeh from power was spearheaded by Senegal and Nigeria.

The human rights organisation, Trial International, which lobbies the Swiss judicial system to prosecute on crimes committed abroad, has said Sonko is a lynchpin of the Gambian regime and claimed he must have been aware of the violations committed under the regime, characterising him as a "strongman".

"Sonko could not have ignored the large-scale torture that political opponents, journalists and human rights defenders suffered," Benedict de Moerloose from Trial's criminal law division said.

"The crimes of Jammeh's government have never been judged, and torturers walk free. At the time Gambia is preparing for a democratic transition, these developments send a strong message of hope," the group said in a statement.

Sonko was forced into exile in September after he was ejected from Jammeh's government. He applied for asylum in Switzerland in November.

Jammeh left The Gambia for Equatorial Guinea in a deal orchestrated by African leaders. The country is not a member of the International Criminal Court. </s> Swiss authorities have opened an investigation into suspected crimes against humanity against a former Gambian interior minister who applied for asylum in Switzerland, officials said on Thursday.

A Bernese court ordered the arrest of Ousman Sonko, who served under Yahya Jammeh, the dictator who ruled the West African country for 22 years. Sonko was sacked by Jammeh and then fled for Europe. He has been living in an asylum center in canton Bern since last November.

"He has been arrested and will be heard soon," Amaël Gschwind, a spokesperson for the cantonal prosecutor, told Swiss public television, SRF. Authorities confirmed they also launched an investigation into suspected crimes against humanity by Sonko, who commanded an elite squad in Gambia notorious for its brutality.



Last September, Sonko tried to obtain asylum in Sweden. He then fled to Switzerland, where he filed an asylum application. After his presence became known, the Geneva-based group TRIAL International filed a criminal complaint against him for alleged participation in what the group calls the Jammeh regime's "widespread use of torture and extrajudiciary executions".

The complaint asked Bernese judicial authorities to prosecute Sonko for alleged brutality against opponents through detentions, beatings and killings. The group asked for Sonko to be charged, as is allowable in Switzerland, under an international anti-torture treaty and the Swiss criminal code.



“As the head of detention centers, M Sonko could not have ignored the large-scale torture that political opponents, journalists and human rights defenders suffered there”, Benedict de Moerloose, head of the inquiries and criminal law division at TRIAL, said in a statement.

A regional public prosecutor in Bern received the criminal denunciation from TRIAL and was examining Sonko’s case. Hundreds of Gambians disappeared during Jammeh’s rule.

Jammeh was linked to money launderers, drug traffickers and others with ties to organized crime or terror-linked organizations. He was defeated as president in December elections, but only left the country this month under international pressure backed by a West African regional military force. </s> Swiss take former Gambian minister Sonko into custody - media

ZURICH, Jan 26 (Reuters) - Swiss police detained former Gambian Interior Minister Ousman Sonko near the Swiss capital of Berne on Thursday, newspaper Berner Zeitung said on its website, citing police.

Swiss television programme Rundschau reported on Wednesday that Sonko, who had been interior minister under ousted Gambian leader Yahya Jammeh, had been living in a home for asylum seekers near Berne for over two months.

Jammeh has denied allegations of torture and killing opponents while in power. But his repressive rule and a flagging economy saw thousands flee across the Sahara and Mediterranean to Europe each year

"(Berne police director Hans-Juerg) Kaeser confirmed on Thursday that the canton took the Gambian into custody in Lyss and is transferring him to a new location," Berner Zeitung said on its website. Kaeser declined to comment to Reuters.

Christof Scheurer of the Berne prosecutor's office would not confirm that Sonko had been taken into custody, but said the office had taken measures linked to a complaint filed against Sonko by non-governmental organisation Trial International.

The State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) said an asylum request had been received from a former member of the Gambian government, without naming Sonko.

"The SEM was aware of the case's significance when it started processing the asylum request and informed all relevant authorities," SEM spokesman Martin Reichlin said in an email.

Chloe Bitton, spokeswoman for Geneva-based Trial International, confirmed the NGO had filed a complaint against Sonko on Wednesday, hoping it would trigger proceedings in Switzerland that would help Gambia's democratic transition. (Reporting by Silke Koltrowitz; Editing by Alison Williams) </s> A top member of the repressive Gambian regime under ousted President Yahya Jammeh has requested refugee protection in Switzerland, Bern’s Police Chief confirmed on Wednesday.

Former Interior Minister Ousman Sonko has been staying in an asylum centre in Bern since November, police chief Hans-Juerg Kaeser said.

Mr. Sonko was a key figure of Mr. Jammeh’s repressive rule, and he ordered the detention and torture of government critics, Gambian opposition politician Alhasana Jobarteh and human rights lawyer Yankuba Darboe told Swiss public broadcaster SRF.

Mr. Sonko apparently fell out with Mr. Jammeh already before the president was voted out of office in early December.

Mr. Jammeh, who ruled the small West African nation for 22 years with an iron fist, had refused to step down.

He finally left for Equatorial Guinea on Saturday, after weeks of pressure from regional leaders. </s> A former top loyalist to the dictator who ruled the West African country of Gambia for 22 years has requested asylum in Switzerland, authorities said.



Gambia’s former interior minister, Ousman Sonko, has applied for asylum in Switzerland where he has been been living in an asylum center in canton Bern since last November, Hans-Jürg Käser, head of the canton’s police and military department, confirmed to Swiss public television, SRF.



Sonko, who commanded an elite squad that activists say was notorious for its brutality, fled Gambia after Gambia's then-strongman president Yahya Jammeh sacked him last fall. The ex-interior minister reportedly sought residency in Sweden before landing in Switzerland.



As a former top lieutenant to Jammeh, Sonko also could offer a wealth of intelligence on former Gambian president Jammeh’s reported connections to money launderers, drug traffickers and others with ties to organized crime or terror-linked organizations.



Jammeh, whom rights groups say led a government that routinely detained, beat and killed its opponents, was defeated in December elections that the ruling party challenged. He finally left the country this month under international pressure backed by a West African regional military force. Hundreds of Gambians disappeared during Jammeh’s rule.



Gambia's new president, Adama Barrow, is set to arrive from neighboring Senegal where he was safely ensconced while waiting for things to settle. Barrow has promised to undo many of Jammeh’s repressive actions. Gambia's lawmakers lifted the country's state of emergency.



Sonko also may have left with a lot of cash. According to Gambian officials, his one-time boss, Jammeh, stole millions of dollars from government accounts and loaded a cargo plane full of luxury cars that he sent abroad. A special adviser to Barrow has told journalists that Jammeh stole $11.4 million in one two-week period alone.



Sonko, who presented a diplomatic passport to Swiss authorities, was assigned to Bernese cantonal authorities in mid-November after undergoing interrogation protocols, Käser told the Swiss News Agency. The State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) is following the case. It regulates the conditions under which people can enter Switzerland to live and work and decides who will receive protection from persecution. </s> These are external links and will open in a new window

The Gambia will set up a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to investigate abuses committed during ex-President Yahya Jammeh's rule, the justice minister has said.

The finances of Mr Jammeh would also be investigated, Abubacarr Tambadou added.

People would be encouraged to confess to crimes, and victims would be offered compensation, he said.

The former regime was accused of widespread torture and enforced disappearances during its 22-year rule.

There were also unconfirmed allegations that more than $11m (£8.8m) went missing from The Gambia's state coffers following Mr Jammeh's departure in January.
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He fled to Equatorial Guinea in January after regional troops entered the tiny West African state to force him to accept defeat to property developer Adama Barrow in elections the previous month.

"A Truth and Reconciliation Commission with appropriate reparations for victims will be set up within the next six months and public hearings will be expected to commence by the end of the year," Mr Tambadou said in a statement.

Former intelligence chief Yankuba Badjie was arrested in January, making him the first of Mr Jammeh's security officials to be taken into custody by the new government.

No official reason was given for his arrest.

After his election victory, Mr Barrow pledged that his government would not seek vengeance against officials of the former regime, and would instead set up a South Africa-styled Truth and Reconciliation Commission to heal wounds of the past.

In a 2015 report, campaign group Human Rights Watch said Mr Jammeh's regime "frequently committed serious human rights violations, including arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance, and torture against those who voiced opposition".

Torture methods included the "electroshock of body parts, including genitals and dripping melted plastic bags onto the skin", it said.
Former Gambian Interior Minister Ousman Sonko is arrested in Switzerland on allegations of human rights abuses.