Bellinzona, Switzerland – AFP Switzerland’s Federal Criminal Court on Wednesday sentenced Gambian ex-interior minister Ousman Sonko to 20 years in prison for crimes against humanity committed under the regime of former dictator Yahya Jammeh. Sonko, 55, is the highest-ranking official ever convicted in Europe under universal jurisdi...
GENEVA (AA) – Dozens of students from Switzerland’s Fribourg and Basel universities have joined protests in solidarity with Palestine. Occupying the Perolles 21 building in Fribourg and the Bernouillanum building in Basel, students called for the suspension of all collaborations with Israeli institutions. The student protests origi...
GENEVA (AA) – Switzerland has decided to contribute 10 million Swiss francs (over $11 million) to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), focusing on the basic needs of the people in Gaza. “The CHF 10 million contribution is exclusively earmarked for Gaza and will be used to provide the urgent assistance specified in the [&...
The U.S. has vetoed a U.N. Security Council draft resolution demanding Palestine’s full membership in the United Nations. The 15-member council gathered in New York to vote on a draft resolution authored by Algeria recommending the admission of the State of Palestine. Twelve countries voted in favor with two abstentions, including the U.K. and...
GENEVA (AA) – Switzerland has suspended financial support to 11 Palestinian and Israeli non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the light of the situation in the region. “In view of the new situation that has prevailed since 7th October and the resumption of hostilities in the Middle East, the FDFA (Federal Department of Foreign A...
GENEVA (AA) – The Swiss parliament passed legislation on Wednesday making it illegal to cover one’s face, including wearing a burka – a Muslim women’s veil that covers the entire body from head to toe – with a fine of 1,000 Swiss francs (approximately $1,114). The “burka ban” law was approved by the upper chamber [&hell...
GENEVA (AA) – Switzerland’s Office of the Attorney General (OAG) has submitted charges against former Algerian Defense Minister Khaled Nezzar of crimes against humanity committed during Algeria’s civil war between 1992 and 1994. The OAG charged 85-year-old Nezzar at the Federal Criminal Court in Bellinzona, in the Swiss canton of Ticino,...
GENEVA (AA) – Afghans living in Switzerland who no longer have valid papers are entitled to a special Swiss passport, the Swiss State Secretariat for Migration has announced. The decision by the State Secretariat was preceded by a court ruling in July which stated that it was impossible for Afghans to obtain papers from their […]
