British barrister Martin Hackett has been appointed as The Gambia's first special prosecutor to try those responsible for human rights abuses carried out during the 22-year rule of ex-President Yahya Jammeh, which ended when he went into exile in 2017.
Hackett will head a newly created office charged with dealing with the cases from a period characterised by widespread repression, enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings.
The Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC) was set up to document the extent of the alleged abuses.
In its final report, handed to current President Adama Barrow in 2021, it identified those most responsible and recommended their prosecution.
The TRRC, which heard harrowing testimony from victims, former security operatives and other witnesses, also called for reparations to be paid to the victims, warning that failure to act risked entrenching impunity.
