Ousman Sonko, the former Gambian Interior Minister under autocratic ruler Yahya Jammeh, claims he is only given one hour of fresh air daily, according to Swissinfo.ch.
The human rights violation of the Jammeh regime is currently being investigated by the country’s newly established Truth Commission.
A Swiss Court has rejected the demand of the former Gambian Interior Minister, Ousman Sonko to investigate the alleged torture acts against him. Sonko is currently detained in Switzerland under charges of war crimes.
The Federal Appeal Court published on Thursday 14th February, 2019; its decision not to investigate Sonko’s claims of mistreatment in his Swiss detention centre, where he has been held for just over a year.
The Gambian claimed that he was only allowed to outdoor one hour a day, while the rest of his detention was spent in isolation. He also said that he was only able to work sporadically since being arrested.
The Federal Court has rejected that these conditions amounted to a penal maltreatment. Sonko is subjected to the standard rules and procedures of the Bernese prison system, it stated.
Sonko, who had initially sought Asylum incognito in Switzerland, was arrested by authorities in January 2017.
He is currently under investigation by the war crimes office on suspicion of facilitating torture while occupying several key posts during Yahya Jammeh’s 1994-2016 dictatorial regimes in the Gambia.
The UN special rapporteur on torture has said that torture and ill-treatment is still widespread and used systematically on persons arrested on grounds of national security in the African state.
NGO Trial International accused Sonko of having personally taken part in what it described as torture between 2006 and 2016.
Source: Swisinfo.ch
