On Monday, the trial of a Gambian man accused of being a member of a death squad that assassinated former dictator Yahya Jammeh’s opponents, including an AFP journalist, began in Germany.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The suspect, identified in the media as Bai Lowe, is accused of crimes against humanity, murder, and attempted murder, including the death of AFP journalist Deyda Hydara in 2004.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lowe, 46, entered in court in the northern town of Celle wearing a black hood and hiding his face with a green folder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Activists held a poster outside the courtroom demanding that Jammeh “and his accomplices be brought to justice.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Human Rights Watch, the trial is “the first to pursue human rights offences perpetrated in Gambia under the Jammeh regime on the basis of universal jurisdiction.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Universal jurisdiction empowers a foreign government to prosecute crimes against humanity, war crimes, and genocide anywhere in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lowe was arrested in Hanover in March 2021 and charged with two murders and one attempted murder while operating as a driver for the Junglers death squad between December 2003 and December 2006.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to federal prosecutors, “the then-president of Gambia employed this unit to carry out illegal killing orders, among other things,” with the goal of “intimidating the Gambian public and repressing the opposition.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On December 16, 2004, Hydara, 58, was shot and killed in his car on the outskirts of Banjul, the Gambian capital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lowe is accused of assisting in the stop of Hydara’s vehicle and of driving one of the killers in his own automobile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hydara worked for AFP for over 30 years as an editor and co-founder of the independent newspaper The Point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The father of four also served as a Gambia correspondent for the non-governmental organization Reporters without Borders (RSF) and was regarded as a journalist’s doyen in the small West African country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He had a well-read column, “Good morning, Mr. President,” in his daily The Point, in which he shared his thoughts on Gambian politics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hydara was being spied on by Gambian intelligence, according to RSF investigations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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