Ex-soldier from Gambia receives life sentence in Celle
A former soldier from Gambia has received a life sentence for murder, attempted murder and crimes against humanity. This marked the end of a complex state security trial at the Higher Regional Court (OLG) in Celle on Thursday after 62 days of hearings. The judges were convinced that the 48-year-old defendant was a member of a former special unit of the Gambian armed forces, the so-called Junglers. As a driver, he had carried out illegal killing orders on behalf of the then Gambian President Yahya Jammeh between the end of 2003 and 2006 at the latest.
According to the court, this is the first judgment worldwide for such crimes under international criminal law in The Gambia. Specifically, it concerns the attempted murder of a lawyer, the murder of a journalist critical of the government and the murder of a former soldier who was allegedly an opponent of the president.
According to the court, the three crimes could be prosecuted in Germany under the so-called universal jurisdiction principle. The Higher Regional Court was responsible for the proceedings because the ex-soldier last lived in Hanover and was arrested there in 2021. The judges relied, among other things, on interviews given by the accused in 2013 and 2014, in which he described his involvement as a driver in detail, according to the OLG. During the trial, the man said that he had told the untruth and only wanted to strengthen the opposition in Gambia with the interviews. The court considered this to be a protective allegation.
The defense had requested an acquittal. The verdict is not yet final.
According to the Higher Regional Court, a judicial investigation into such crimes under ex-President Jammeh has not yet taken place in the West African country. Jammeh had ruled as dictatorial head of state for 22 years. After being voted out of office in early 2017, he went into exile in Equatorial Guinea. Jammeh is accused of numerous human rights violations.
This groundbreaking judgment in Celle is significant in the context of international crime processes, as it marks the first such conviction under international criminal law for the Gambian government's critics' murders. Further, this case highlights the universal jurisdiction principle, allowing German courts to prosecute these crimes, despite the ex-soldier's last residence and arrest in Hanover.
Source: www.dpa.com
