Prosecutors in Germany accuse the man of crimes against humanity and murder in Gambia. Among the victims of the so-called "Junglers" death squad was a prominent journalist and AFP correspondent.
The case began under tight security at the higher regional court in Celle, GermanyImage: picture alliance/dpa
The 46-year-old defendant is accused of being involved in two murders and an attempted murder while working as a driver for a notorious assassination squad known as the Junglers.
The alleged crimes took place between December 2003 and December 2006.
German federal prosecutors claim the unit was used by Jammeh "to carry out illegal killing orders, among other things." They say this was done with the aim of "intimidating the Gambian population and suppressing the opposition."
The 58-year-old correspondent for the news agency AFP was gunned down in his car on the outskirts of the Gambian capital Banjul on December 16, 2004.
Baba Hydara, the son the the murdered journalist Deyda Hydara, outside the court on MondayImage: picture alliance/dpa
According to prosecutors, the defendant helped stop Hydara's car and drove at least one of the killers in his own vehicle.
The NGO Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is also pressing for two other alleged direct participants in Hydara's death to face justice. Another of the four alleged to have been involved has since died.
What is special about the trial?
The case is the first in the world to see human rights violations committed in Gambia during the Jammeh era prosecuted on the basis of "universal jurisdiction."
Under the principle of universal jurisdiction, a country can prosecute crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide, regardless of where they took place.
In the first 10 months of 2018, 73 journalists and media workers have died — and not just in war zones. Threats to investigative reporters are increasing, with a number being arrested and jailed over the last year.
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While the case is the first of its kind to reach the trial stage, the 46-year-old is not the only person to be charged of crimes against humanity during Jammeh's rule in Gambia under universal jurisdiction.
Another alleged death squad member, Michael Correa, was charged in the United States in June 2020 with torturing people who were detained after a failed coup attempt against Jammeh in 2006. However, his trial has been delayed because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Who was Deyda Hydara?
Hydara co-founded and was an editor of the independent daily The Point. He was also a correspondent for the AFP news agency for more than 30 years.
He worked Gambia as a correspondent for RSF and had a widely read column, "Good morning, Mr. President," where he expressed his views on Gambian politics.
According to RSF, Hydara was under surveillance by Gambian intelligence services just before his death.
Hydara's son Baba Hydara said his father was was a tenacious and "really stubborn" journalist.
