Gambian's Trial In Europe Masks Struggle For Justice At Home

Banjul, Gambia, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 23rd Apr, 2022 ) :A Gambian man goes on trial in Germany on Monday in a landmark case for crimes committed under the country's dictatorship, but at home, the quest for justice is proving to be long and hard.

Bai Lowe will go into the dock in the northern town of Celle, charged with crimes against humanity, murder and attempted murder.

He allegedly worked as a driver for the Junglers -- a death squad that underpinned dictator Yahya Jammeh, whose 22-year reign ended in 2017 after he suffered a shock election defeat and fled to Equatorial Guinea.

Lowe is accused of two murders and an attempted murder, one of which is the 2004 killing of AFP's correspondent in Banjul, Deyda Hydara, who was also editor of the independent daily The Point.

Lowe will be the first alleged member of the dreaded Junglers to go on trial.

"I am confident that justice will be done," said Hydara's son, Baba Hydara, 45.

"Germany is a neutral country and I am expecting a fair trial." But he pointed to the gruelling 18-year struggle to get to this point and the challenges for securing justice in The Gambia.

"There is a lot of expectations," he said. "This is just a first battle win, but the war is still on."Lowe is being prosecuted under the principle of universal jurisdiction, which allows a foreign country to prosecute crimes against humanity, including war crimes and genocide, regardless of where they were committed.

Germany has been particularly active in pursuing such cases linked to the Syrian regime, and in January sentenced a former Syrian colonel to life in jail for crimes against humanity.