Historic conviction: German court sentences Gambian death squad driver to life in prison

A German regional court on Thursday (30 November) handed down a historic sentence when it sent a former member of a Gambian death squad to prison for life, convicting him for crimes against humanity, among other charges.
The 47-year-old Bai Lowe, who was linked to the killing of AFP journalist Deyda Hydara, was convicted of crimes against humanity stemming from assassinations committed between 2003 and 2006 during the President Yahya Jammeh’s regime. The court found Lowe guilty of crimes against humanity, murder and attempted murder for his role as a driver for the so-called “Junglers” military unit that, according to prosecutors, was “used by the then-president of The Gambia to carry out illegal killing orders, among other things” with the aim of “intimidating the Gambian population and suppressing the opposition” during the 2003-2006 period.
Lowe was arrested in the German city of Hanover in March 2021, more than a decade after he came to the European country as a refugee. According to the Geneva-based TRIAL International, “this is the first trial to be held on the basis of universal jurisdiction for crimes committed during Mr Jammeh’s presidency.” The non-governmental organization that fights impunity for international crimes and supports victims in their quest for justice also stresses that “the judgment is of major significance, not only for the four plaintiffs in the trial, but also for all the victims and survivors of these crimes.” “The long arm of the law has caught up to Bai Lowe in Germany… as it will hopefully soon catch up to Jammeh himself,” said Reed Brody, a lawyer with the International Commission of Jurists who works with victims of the regime of the former authoritarian ruler.