Gambian on trial in Germany over AFP reporter murder
CELLE, Germany: The trial began in Germany on Monday of a Gambian man accused of being part of a death squad that assassinated opponents of former dictator Yahya Jammeh, including an AFP journalist.
The suspect, identified by media as Bai Lowe, is accused of crimes against humanity, murder and attempted murder, including the 2004 killing of AFP correspondent Deyda Hydara. Lowe, 46, wore a black hood and hid his face behind a green folder as he arrived in court in the northern town of Celle.
Outside the courtroom, activists held a placard demanding that Jammeh “and his accomplices be brought to justice”. The trial is “the first to prosecute human rights violations committed in Gambia during the Jammeh era on the basis of universal jurisdiction”, according to Human Rights Watch. Universal jurisdiction allows a foreign country to prosecute crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide, regardless of where they were committed. Arrested in Hanover in March 2021, Lowe is accused of being involved in two murders and one attempted murder while working as a driver for the hit squad known as the Junglers between December 2003 and December 2006.
“This unit was used by the then-president of Gambia to carry out illegal killing orders, among other things” with the aim of “intimidating the Gambian population and suppressing the opposition,” according to federal prosecutors. Hydara, 58, was gunned down in his car on the outskirts of the Gambian capital Banjul on December 16, 2004. Lowe is accused of helping to stop Hydara’s car and driving one of the killers in his own vehicle.
Hydara was an editor and co-founder of the independent daily The Point and a correspondent for AFP for over 30 years. The father-of-four also worked as a Gambia correspondent for the NGO Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and was considered a doyen among journalists in the tiny West African state.
In his newspaper The Point, he had a widely read column, “Good morning, Mr President”, in which he expressed his views on Gambian politics. According to investigations by RSF, Hydara was being spied on by Gambian intelligence services just before his death.