From minister to cleaner in Swiss Prison

The report requested from the prison authorities directly to the judicial authorities of Switzerland described Ousman Sonko as calm and friendly, hence he does not pose a costly maintenance for the prison.

“He is of impeccable behaviour,” the court was informed. This has led him to be moved to a more open cell since August last year, instead of a solitary confinement – a situation where a prisoner is isolated from human contact for 22 to 24 hours each day in prison.

His current status enables him a freer movement within prison, where he is reported to be fully integrating. As far as the prison authorities are concerned, they have no knowledge of any problems posed by Ousman Sonko.

After fleeing The Gambia in 2016 to Europe, Ousman Sonko, as former interior minister, had filed for asylum, first in Sweden, then in Switzerland, where he stayed in the asylum camp until his arrest in connection with crimes allegedly committed while serving his role under Yahya Jammeh.

Years of investigation by Office of the Attorney General in Switzerland saw Mr Sonko spending seven years in custody, until a criminal trial in 2024 found him guilty of multiple crimes of murder, torture, rape and aggravated homicide – crimes the court considers as systematic attacks against the Gambian population and thus a crimes-against-humanity.

While the trial and investigations progressed, Ousman Sonko’s lawyer, Philippe Currat, had filed complaints at the Swiss courts against the treatment of his client in custody. Currat claims the rights of his clients were violated as he was denied some basic needs like sunlight, sanitary products like soap and toothpaste; and overall poor meals in prison.

This led to a judicial inquiry at the request of the courts, to establish veracity of such claims. From January 2017 to September 2018, Sonko was held in the prison of Biel under solitary confinement with very limited access to the outside, according to his lawyer, Philippe Currat. He was later moved to Burkdorf prisons where situations were said to be much better for him.

In the court yesterday, it was reported that Sonko now works in the laundry section of the prison since 2023, where he performed all tasks to satisfaction. In January 2024, he was also assigned cleaning in the said section, washing clothes and organising food for prisoners to the satisfaction of the prison authorities.

He is also reported to take advantage of the multilingual prison library, fitness facility, and had no private visitors. Sonko also holds a private telephone card in this prison.