Ousman Sonko

Ousman Sonko (born 9 January 1969)[1] is a former Gambian politician. He served as Interior Minister between 2006 and 2016 under the Gambian dictator Yahya Jammeh. During this period he is suspected of taking part in acts of torture, including in detention centers.[2]

Not to be confused with Ousmane Sonko.
Ousman Sonko
Minister of the Interior
In office
23 October 2006 – 19 September 2016
PresidentYahya Jammeh
Succeeded byMomodou Alieu Bah
Personal details
Born (1969-01-09) 9 January 1969
Serekunda, the Gambia

Youth

Sonko was born in Serekunda.[1]

Military career

Sonko had a career in the military, starting in 1989.[1] In early 2000 he served as commander of the State Guards Battalion. He later served as Inspector General of The Gambia Police Force before being appointed to Interior Minister.[3] He was appointed as Interior Minister on 23 October 2006.[4] On 19 September 2016 Sonko was replaced as Interior Minister by Momodou Alieu Bah.[5]

Exile in Europe

In September 2016 Sonko fled to Sweden, applying for residency on 21 September.[6]

On 26 January 2017 Sonko was arrested in Switzerland, where he had been reportedly living since November 2016, after his request in Sweden had been denied. Sonko was arrested after the rights group TRIAL International filed a complaint against him on the basis of human rights violations.[7][8] At the time of his arrest he was living in a center for asylum seekers. He was detained to investigate the allegations, initially for three months,[9] and for another three months in May 2017.[10] In November 2019 his detention was extended by the Federal Criminal Court of Switzerland until late January 2020.[11] As of May 2020 he was still in custody.[3]

On 18 April 2023, the Swiss Attorney General declared that Sonko had been charged with crimes against humanity. He was accused of "having supported, participated in and failed to prevent 'systematic and generalised attacks' as part of a repressive campaign by security forces against Jammeh's opponents".[12]

References
  1. "Ousman Sonko Minister of The Interior". Statehouse. Archived from the original on 1 February 2017.
  2. "Ousman Sonko". TRIAL International. 10 October 2017. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
  3. Mustapha K. Darboe (7 May 2020). "Ousman Sonko: a view on the Swiss case from Gambia's Truth Commission". JusticeInfo.net. Archived from the original on 8 August 2020.
  4. Bertrand Badie; Dominique Vidal (30 January 2011). El Estado del mundo 2011 / State of the World 2011. Ediciones Akal. pp. 266–. ISBN 978-84-460-3325-7.
  5. "Gambia: Jammeh appoints pardoned coup plotter as Interior Minister". Africa News. 19 September 2016. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  6. "Fired Gambian minister flees to Sweden". The Local.se. 23 September 2016. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  7. "Switzerland arrests ex-Gambian interior minister". News24. 26 January 2017. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  8. Julia Crawford (27 January 2017). "Ex-minister's arrest an "important sign" for torture victims". Swiss Info. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  9. "Gambischer Folter-Minister Sonko kassiert Untersuchungshaft statt Asyl" (in German). Blick.ch. 30 January 2017. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  10. "Switzerland extends ex-Gambian minister's detention". Swiss Info. 4 May 2017. Retrieved 20 May 2017.
  11. "Ex-Gambian minister Ousman Sonko to remain in detention until 2020". Swiss Info. 1 November 2019. Archived from the original on 6 August 2020.
  12. "Swiss charge ex-Gambian minister with crimes against humanity". Al Jazeera English. 19 April 2023. Wikidata Q117832665. Archived from the original on 22 April 2023.
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