Gambia’s former Interior minister Ousman Sonko is in detention in Switzerland, Swiss media reported.

The Local newspaper quoted Bern city prosecutor Christof Scheurer saying Mr Sonko was being investigated in accordance with Article 264a of the Swiss Criminal Code for crimes against humanity.

He was reportedly arrested on Thursday.

Rights violations

Mr Sonko served 10 years as Interior minister under former President Yahya Jammeh, whose regime was characterised by brutal human rights violations.

A former aide of President Jammeh before being appointed Interior minister, Mr Sonko fled to Sweden following his dismissal from the Cabinet.

He applied for an asylum on arrival in Sweden but the application was rejected.

Seek asylum

Mr Sonko is said to have arrived in Switzerland in November 2016, just a month before Gambia’s presidential election, to seek asylum.

His arrest and detention in Bern followed the filing of complaints by a Swiss rights group TRIAL, which deals with crimes committed abroad.

The Local said TRIAL called on Switzerland to conduct the prosecution expeditiously to give momentum to the unprecedented political developments under way in the Gambia.

A strong message

The country has a new President Adama Barrow, who ascended to the throne after Jammeh finally quit after holding on following his defeat in the December 2016 election.

"The crimes of Jammeh's government have never been tried, and the torturers walk free. At the time Gambia is preparing for a democratic transition, these developments send a strong message of hope," the rights group said in a statement.

Mr Jammeh is currently exiled in Equatorial Guinea where he is expected to stay till his fate is decided, but his presence has provoked protests from the opposition groups.