Bai Lowe Should be sentenced to Life Imprisonment, Says German Federal Prosecutor

Plaintiffs in Bai Lowe Trial (c) Human Rights Watch

By Patience Loum

During the Bai Lowe trial held in Celle Germany, the federal prosecutor requested that Bai Lowe to be sentenced to life imprisonment for the murders and attempted murders during the 22 year dictatorial regime of former President Yahya Jammeh.

The statement was made during the federal prosecutor’s closing statement on the 16th November 2023. The hearing, which started in April 2022 is currently ongoing and is expected to be terminated in the early weeks of December 2023.

The trial will follow up on the 24th, during which the defense will make their closing arguments.

Babucarr Bai Lowe, ex-military man and former State House driver who allegedly posed as a “jungler,” (former President Yahya Jammeh’s alleged hit squad), is indicted for three counts of crimes against humanity for the murders of former Newspaper editor and journalist, Deyda Hydara, political opponent Dawda Nyassi, and one attempted murder on a Gambian lawyer, Ousman Sillah, all of which happened between the periods of 2003-2006.

Deyda Hydara was a journalist, co-owner and editor of The Point Newspaper. Before his passing, Deyda Hydara was an Agence France –Presse (AFP) and Reporters Without Border (RSF) correspondent. He was killed on the night of 16 December 2004 on his way from work. This day also marked The Point Newspaper’s 13th anniversary.

Ousman Sillah was one of the lawyers for the late Baba Jobe, a former closed ally to former president Yahya Jammeh, who is also alleged to have been imprisoned and killed through executive orders. Sillah however, survived his attacks.

Another one of Bai Lowe’s victims is Dawd Nyassi who was believed to have gone to fight in Libya’s civil war. Nyassi was also killed following the former President’s belief that Nyassi tried to overthrow him.

The witnesses in the Bai Lowe Trial includes the son of the late Deyda Hydara and a survivor of the Deyda Hydara hit, who was also in the car of the time of the shooting.

According to Trial International, The Bai Lowe trial in Germany, in the city of Celle, is the first to prosecute human rights violations committed in Gambia during the Jammeh era on the basis of universal jurisdiction. Bai L. has been in pretrial detention since his arrest in Germany in March 2021.

Former Jungler Driver Bai Lowe (c) Unknown 

The Case of Bai Lowe under Universal Jurisdiction

Bai Lowe fled to Germany in the city of Hannover. In March 2021, he got arrested by German authorities following thorough investigations. Under the principles of Universal Jurisdiction, states and NGOs have the right to prosecute cases of mass atrocities under customary international nature, all of which falls under the Rome Statute which The Gambia is a part of.

His trial in Germany is possible because the country’s laws recognize 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.

Universal jurisdiction cases are increasingly important in international efforts to hold those responsible for atrocities accountable, to provide justice to victims who have nowhere else to turn, to help deter future crimes, and to help ensure that countries do not become safe havens for human rights abusers.

According to Trial International, this trial may be a step on the way to ensure that Jammeh and others implicated in the crimes will face fair, credible trials in Gambia or outside the country, as needed.

Meanwhile in The Gambia, The National Assembly members earlier this year passed the Anti-Torture Bill, followed up by the recent passing of the passing of the Victim’s Reparations Bill. Although the Special Prosecutor’s Office Act is yet to be passed.

Former Interior Minister, Ousman Sonko’s trial is also expected to follow suit, followed up by year’s long investigations. His indictment came in April 17 2023 and the first phase of the trial is expected to commence in January, in Switzerland, for crimes of torture meted out during Jammeh’s regime.