Prosecutor reaffirms Swiss jurisdiction in trial of ex-Gambian minister

For the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland (OAG) and the lawyers for the private plaintiffs, one thing is clear in the trial against the former Gambian interior minister Ousman Sonko: Switzerland has criminal jurisdiction in all cases. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox On the second day of the appeal trial on Tuesday, the federal prosecutor and the representatives of the private plaintiffs were given the opportunity to comment on the several hours of statements made by Sonko's lawyer the previous day. Once again, a central point was the question of Switzerland's jurisdiction to prosecute the crimes against humanity allegedly committed by Sonko in The Gambia between 2006 and 2016. On Monday, as part of preliminary proceedings, the defense spoke at length, challenging Switzerland’s jurisdiction to prosecute certain charges. Both the OAG and the representatives of the plaintiffs referred to customary international law as well as to the ...