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Gambian ex-minister alleges racism and lies as Swiss crimes against humanity trial closes

Gambian ex-minister alleges racism and lies as Swiss crimes against humanity trial closes

SWITZERLAND'S first full trial of crimes against humanity concluded this week, with the defendant, a former Gambian minister accused of rape and murder, giving a defiant closing speech in which he claimed to be a victim of racism and lies. Ousman Sonko, a former interior minister of Gambia under ousted dictator Yahya Jammeh, is the highest-ranking official ever to be tried in Europe using universal jurisdiction which allows the most serious crimes to be prosecuted anywhere. During the trial in Switzerland's Federal Criminal Court in Bellinzona, the court heard details of the charges of rape, torture and murder allegedly committed between 2000-2016…
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Liberian warlord’s trial concludes in Switzerland

Liberian warlord’s trial concludes in Switzerland

EMMA FARGE THE appeal hearings of a former Liberian rebel commander convicted of war crimes concluded in a trial that was broadened in its final stages to include crimes against humanity for the first time in Switzerland. Alieu Kosiah, who fought in the 1990s against then-President Charles Taylor's army, was sentenced to 20 years in prison in June 2021 for rape, murder and cannibalism in one of the first trials for war crimes committed in the West African country. During the three weeks of appeal hearings at the Federal Criminal Court in Bellinzona, the defendant sought to overturn the lower court's ruling, arguing at…
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