Germany: Verdict in Gambia Atrocity Case

Germany: Verdict in Gambia Atrocity Case

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Berlin, November 28, 2023 – A German court in the city of Celle is expected to deliver a verdict on November 30, 2023, in the first trial in Germany for crimes committed in The Gambia, Gambian and international civil society groups said today in releasing a question and answer document about the trial.

The groups are: the African Network against Extrajudicial Killings and Enforced Disappearances (ANEKED), the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR), the Gambian Center for Victims of Human Rights Violations, Human Rights Watch, the International Commission of Jurists, Reporters Without Borders (RSF), the Rose Lokissim Association, the Solo Sandeng Foundation, and TRIAL International.

This trial is possible because Germany recognizes universal jurisdiction over certain serious crimes under international law, allowing for the investigation and prosecution of these crimes no matter where they were committed and regardless of the nationality of the suspects or victims.

The trial concerns Bai L., an alleged member of the “Junglers,” a paramilitary unit also known as the “Patrol Team,” which was set up by then-president Yahya Jammeh in the mid-1990s. Jammeh’s 22-year rule was marked by systematic oppression and widespread human rights violations, including torture, extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, and sexual violence against actual and perceived opponents.

German prosecutors accuse Bai L. of being a Junglers driver involved in the attempted murder of Ousman Sillah, a lawyer; the murder of Deyda Hydara, a journalist; the attempted murder of Ida Jagne and Nian Sarang Jobe, who worked with the independent newspaper Hydara; and the murder of a former Gambian soldier, Dawda Nyassi

The verdict in the Bai L. case represents a major step in the search for justice for years of abuses committed under Jammeh’s rule in The Gambia, the groups said. The Bai L. trial reinforces the role that governments like Germany can play in advancing justice for atrocities committed abroad under the principle of universal jurisdiction.

Civil society groups will hold a news conference online on Thursday, November 30 after the verdict is issued – scheduled for 3:30 pm CET – at the following link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81236784593?pwd=tvLgbtT3I8N9rF2Db2XTIRyH3Kn1gv.1

To read the question-and-answer document, please see the attached PDF:

Questions and Answers on first German trial for serious crimes

For more information, please contact:
For Reporters Without Borders, in Dakar, Sadibou Marong (English, French): +221-70-960-40-92 (mobile); or [email protected]. Twitter: @cheikhsadbu
For TRIAL International, in Geneva, Babaka Mputu (English, French, German): +41-775-07-04-56 (mobile); or [email protected]. Twitter: @Trial
For Human Rights Watch, in New York, Elise Keppler (English, French): +1-917-687-8576 (mobile); or [email protected]. Twitter: @EliseKeppler
For Solo Sandeng Foundation, in Germany, Fatoumatta Sandeng (English, German, Mandinka, Wollof): +49-163-174-7519 (mobile); or [email protected]. Twitter: @solosandengfound
For ANEKED, in New York, Nana-Jo Ndow (English, French, Spanish, Portuguese): +1-929-684-5734 (mobile); or [email protected]. @theANEKED
For Reporters Without Borders, in Berlin, Nicola Bier (German, English, French, Spanish, Italian): +49-160-9957-6073 (mobile); or [email protected]. Twitter: @ReporterOG
Lawyer for Baba Hydara and Omar and Modou Nyassi, in Celle, Patrick Kroker (German, English, French): +49-170-813-6258 (mobile); or [email protected]. Twitter: @pkroker2
For International Commission of Jurists, in New York, Reed Brody (English, Spanish, French, Portuguese): +1-917-388-6745 (mobile); or [email protected]. Twitter: @reedbrody

EU: Roundtable discussion on the impact of counter-terrorism laws on children and on minority ethnic and religious groups

EU: Roundtable discussion on the impact of counter-terrorism laws on children and on minority ethnic and religious groups

Today, in Brussels, the ICJ held a roundtable discussion on the impact of counter-terrorism laws on specific groups, including children, and ethnic and religious groups.

The roundtable brought together 34 judges, lawyers, NGOs and other experts from countries including Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Belgium, Portugal, Romania, and Spain to discuss how the rights of children and of ethnic and religious minorities can be best protected in applying counter-terrorism legislation in the courts, especially in light of the EU Directive 2017/541 on Combatting Terrorism.

This was the last of four roundtables held by the ICJ and its partner organizations between April and November 2019 in the framework of the EU funded project “Judges Uniting to Stop Terrorism with International, Constitutional and European law (JUSTICE).

The discussion in the first session of the roundtable addressed the disproportionate impact of counterterrorism laws on ethnic and religious groups. It focused on compliance with the principle of non-discrimination, through safeguards in legislation, in the judicial application of counter-terrorism laws, and in investigation and evidence gathering.

The second session of the roundtable addressed the particular impact of counter-terrorism legislation on children, including the challenges involved in protecting the human rights of children of “foreign fighters” and ensuring the primacy of their best interests in decisions on their return to EU countries. Participants also discussed protection of the human rights of returned children of “foreign fighters” both as victims of terrorism and where they are accused of crimes of terrorism.

See the agenda here.

 This workshop was carried out with the financial support of the European Union and the Open Society Foundations. Its contents are the sole responsibility of ICJ and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union or the Open Society Foundations.

 

 

Training in Germany on the rights of migrant children

Training in Germany on the rights of migrant children

Today, the ICJ and Bundesfachverband unbegleitete minderjährige Flüchtlinge (BumF) are holding a training for lawyers on the rights of migrant children and on accessing international human rights mechanisms in Berlin.
The training aims to support the strategic use of national and international mechanisms to foster migrant children’s access to justice.

The training will take place over the course of two days: 20-21 June 2017.

The training will focus on accessing the international mechanisms in order to protect and promote the rights of migrant children, the child’s procedural rights including the right to be heard, the right to family life and family reunification.

A practical case analysis will be part of the training.

Trainers include Karolína Babická, Legal Adviser of ICJ’s Europe Programme, Claudia Kittel from the CRC Monitoring body in Germany, Sigrun Krause from JUMEN e.V. and Joris Sprakel, Lecturer at the Hague University.

The training is based on draft training materials prepared by the ICJ (to be published in the second half of 2017) and the ICJ Practitioners Guide no. 6: Migration and International Human Rights Law.

It is organized as part of the FAIR project co-funded by the Rights, Equality and Citizenship Programme of the European Union and OSIFE.

The past trainings on the rights of migrant children within the FAIR project took place in SpainItalyBulgariaMaltaGreece and Ireland. The Strategic litigation Retreat, which will bring three lawyers of each of the national trainings together with experts on in-depth insights and strategising on accessing international mechanisms will follow in October this year.

Download the agenda (in German) here:

Germany-FAIRtraining-Event-Agenda-2017 (in PDF)

1 BvL 16/11, Federal Constitutional Court, Germany (18 July 2012)

In the event of a “divorce,” registered partners should have the same land transfer tax benefits as married couples. The Court gave the legislature a time frame to revise the regulations in order to apply retroactively. 1 BvL 16/11, Constitutional Court of Germany (18...
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