Photo Credit: Human Rights Watch
Reed Brody a Hungarian-American human rights lawyer and prosecutor who focuses on aiding victims pursue justice against abusive leaders for atrocities has asserted that former Gambian leader, Yahya Jammeh is not above the law.
The lawyer spoke to SeniGambia amidst visible preparation of Yahya Jammeh loyalists following announcement of his planned return from exile in Equatorial Guinea to The Gambia.
Brody whose work gained him prominence as the “Dictator Hunter” clarified that there is no legal or diplomatic basis for Yahya Jammeh’s claim that ECOWAS guaranteed his immunity.
“The 2017 Joint Declaration on the Political Situation in The Gambia — which was unsigned and rejected by the incoming Gambian government— contains no assurance against prosecution, nor could it. International law is clear: there can be no amnesty or immunity for grave crimes such as murder, torture, or sexual violence,” he reminisced
He added that witnesses before the TRRC with firsthand knowledge implicated him in murder, torture, rape, and other terrible crimes,” adding that Commission’s final report found him responsible for crimes against humanity and recommended his prosecution.
He noted that Gambians and the international community now expect the government to deliver on those recommendations — to ensure that justice is finally done for victims who have already waited far too long.
“The Gambian constitution provides a procedural safeguard before prosecuting a former president, not an absolute immunity. It was designed to prevent politically motivated prosecutions, not to shield former presidents from accountability for grave crimes. The government should therefore immediately request that the National Assembly authorize Jammeh’s prosecution so that it can bring charges against him if he returns.”
“If Yahya Jammeh sets foot in The Gambia before the Special Tribunal with ECOWAS is up and running, the government should bring charges against him before the newly established Criminal Division of the High Court. That court was specifically created to handle Jammeh-era crimes under Gambian law,” Brody explained.
It could be recalled that in April 2024, the Gambian National Assembly passed the Special Accountability Mechanism Bill, creating three institutions to prosecute Jammeh-era crimes.
The three institutions are the Special Prosecutor’s Office (SPO), the Special Criminal Division of the High Court and the Special Tribunal for The Gambia (with ECOWAS partnership).
