Facts
The complainant, [A.] , was charged by the Public Prosecutor's Office of the Canton of Bern on 26 January 2017 with crimes against humanity (Art. 264a SCC) for allegedly being responsible for acts of torture in Gambia as the former Interior Minister of the Republic of Gambia. On 28 January 2017, pre-trial detention was ordered until 25 April 2017. The Federal Prosecutor's Office took over the criminal investigation on 3 February 2017. The complainant was repeatedly detained, most recently until 25 January 2019. The complainant lodged a complaint against the extension of pre-trial detention.
The lower court, the Federal Criminal Court, dismissed the complaint. The complainant lodged a criminal appeal with the Federal Supreme Court and requested the reversal of the Federal Criminal Court's decision and his immediate release from detention. He also requested free legal aid and representation.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court examined the admissibility of the complaint and found that the complainant was entitled to appeal. It pointed out that the appeal to the Federal Supreme Court must meet the requirements of Art. 42 para. 2 FSCA, which was not the case here, as the complainant did not substantively engage with the lower court's considerations.
The Federal Supreme Court examined the strong suspicion of a criminal act and found that the lower court had rightly concluded that the complainant had acted intentionally and fulfilled the elements of Art. 264k para. 1 sentence 1 in conjunction with Art. 264a para. 1 lit. f SCC. It confirmed the extension of pre-trial detention by six…