Germans nab suspect in Gambia crimes
BERLIN — A former driver for a special armed unit under Gambia’s former dictator was arrested Tuesday in Germany on accusations of involvement in the killings of a journalist and another dissident in the West African nation, prosecutors said.
The man, identified only as Bai L. in line with German privacy rules, was arrested in Hannover and his apartment was searched, federal prosecutors said. He is suspected of crimes against humanity, murder and attempted murder.
Prosecutors say that the suspect was a driver for a unit known as the “patrol team,” or “Junglers,” from December 2003 until December 2006. According to Human Rights Watch, the unit — drawn from the State Guards, who played a key role in protecting then-President Yahya Jammeh — was implicated in serious human-rights violations including torture, sexual violence, enforced disappearances and killings.
German prosecutors say the suspect was involved in three “liquidation” operations — the first in December 2003, when he was accused of driving other members of the unit to the shooting of a lawyer in the capital, Banjul. The lawyer was wounded but survived.
A year later, prosecutors say, members of the unit stopped a dissident journalist’s car in the town of Kanifing with help from Bai L. and fatally shot him. And, probably in 2006, according to authorities, he drove gunmen who killed an opponent of the president near Banjul airport.