The trial of a Gambian man accused of being part of a death squad that assassinated opponents of former President Yahya Jammeh, including a journalist of the AFP news agency, has begun in Germany. The suspect, identified by media as Bai Lowe, is accused of crimes against humanity, murder and attempted murder, including the 2004 killing of longstanding AFP correspondent Deyda Hydara, who was also co-founder of Gambian independent daily The Point.
Lowe, arrested in Hanover in March 2021, will appear in court on Monday in the nearby town of Celle. The trial is “the first to prosecute human rights violations committed in [The] Gambia during the Jammeh era on the basis of universal jurisdiction”, according to Human Rights Watch.
Universal jurisdiction allows a foreign country to prosecute crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide, regardless of where they were committed.
Outside the courtroom on Monday, activists held a placard demanding that Jammeh “and his accomplices be brought to justice”. Lowe is accused of being involved in two murders and one attempted murder while working as a driver for the hit squad, known as the Junglers, between December 2003 and December 2006.
Credit: Aljazeera.com
