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Momodou
Denmark
11766 Posts |
 Posted - 23 Aug 2025 : 22:37:19
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Aug 22 (Reuters) - A Gambian man who was part of an armed unit run by former dictator Yahya Jammeh and was convicted of torture by a U.S. jury in April has been sentenced to more than 67 years in prison, the U.S. Justice Department said on Friday.
A Colorado jury convicted the Gambian national, Michael Sang Correa, for his participation in the torture of numerous victims in Gambia in 2006, including beating and flesh burning, because of the victims' purported involvement in a coup plot against the then-president, the Justice Department said.
Correa, 46, was sentenced to 810 months in prison by Senior Judge Christine Arguello for the District of Colorado after conviction on one count of conspiracy to commit torture and five counts of torture, the department said in a statement.
The case marked the first criminal prosecution over involvement in the feared armed group known as "the Junglers", which operated in Gambia's police state during Jammeh's rule. The former president seized power in 1994 and foiled several attempts to overthrow him before he lost a 2016 election.
Correa was arrested in 2020 under a law which makes it a crime for anyone in the U.S. to commit torture …….
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A clear conscience fears no accusation - proverb from Sierra Leone |
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Momodou
Denmark
11766 Posts |
Posted - 24 Aug 2025 : 12:56:42
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PUBLIC STATEMENT 23rd August 2025
EFSCRJ Hails the Sentencing of Michael Sang Correa and
Warns of Democratic Backsliding
EFSCRJ hereby hails the sentencing of Jungler Michael Sang Correa to 810 months or 67 and half years of imprisonment on 22 August 2025 by a US court in the District of Colorado after being convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit torture and five counts of torture. The conviction of this Jungler is a landmark moment in the global fight against impunity. It marked the first time a non-U.S. citizen was prosecuted under U.S. law for torture committed abroad. This sends a clear message that perpetrators of human rights violations cannot run from justice by crossing borders.
The trial and conviction of Correa forms part of the objectives of the Gambia’s transitional justice process launched in 2017. Though tried in the US, Correa was mentioned in the TRRC Final Report and recommended for prosecution which the Government accepted in its White Paper. Thus, this verdict also puts international pressure on Gambian authorities to act on the TRRC’s recommendations. While his victims have now obtained justice, they also need reparations, and we look forward to the Reparations Commission for the speedy distribution of reparations.
While welcoming this landmark decision, EFSCRJ continues to express deep concern about The Gambian Government’s overall slow implementation of its White Paper. We wish to state that it has taken considerable time now and still the special tribunal is not established while necessary legal and institutional reforms are either not done or slow. These include the lack of a new constitution while laws establishing security agencies also remain unchanged hence severely undermining security sector reforms. Even symbolic recommendations such as declaring April 10 and 11 as school holidays and the President relinquishing his patronage of the Supreme Islamic Council remain undone.
Sentencing perpetrators, creation of institutions, payment of reparations and legal reforms are tangible outcomes we desire. But these are only meaningful when they lead to and strengthen good governance in the Gambia. Nine years after the end of the Yaya Jammeh Tyranny, EFSCRJ has noticed with deep concerned evidence of democratic backsliding. The incidence of weaponization of laws and institutions, unchecked corruption, and return of dictatorship enablers to public office are clear indications of a move towards dictatorship.
We wish to therefore remind both leaders and citizens to be alert and vigilant to detect, prevent and resist democratic backsliding. The illegal denial, restrictions, and violent crackdown on peaceful assemblies and protesters seeking accountability by the Inspector General of Police deeply concern us. We wish to remind both security and civilian officers that they are not obligated to obey illegal orders, even under threat. The fate of Michael Sang Correa should be lesson for all.
We wish to reaffirm our commitment to monitoring, documenting, and preserving accountability for future justice and urged all citizens and officials to uphold human rights and adhere to the rule of law, and uphold the Never Again mantra!
2025 – The Year of Transparency and Accountability |
A clear conscience fears no accusation - proverb from Sierra Leone |
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Momodou
Denmark
11766 Posts |
Posted - 25 Aug 2025 : 15:24:05
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Former Jungler sentenced to over 67 years for torture
The Standard: August 25, 2025
https://standard.gm/former-jungler-sentenced-to-over-67-years-for-torture/
A US federal judge sentenced Michael Correa to 810 months or 67 years in prison for torture committed in The Gambia in 2006.
Judge Christine M Arguello, who presided over Mr Correa’s trial in April, heard from victims about the impact the torture they experienced at the hands of Mr Correa and other Junglers, (a hit squad answerable to former Gambian dictator Yahya Jammeh) had on their lives and that of their families.
Yaya Darboe, a commanding officer in the Gambian Armed Forces, who had been tortured by Mr Correa asked the court to impose a 40-year sentence because Mr Correa “must be held fully accountable for his actions. “When I saw him in Colorado at the trial, he was smiling, showing no remorse. He tried to escape justice. He should not be allowed to do so.”
“Justice in this case is not only about punishment; it is about restoring faith in the rule of law for victims like me, and for the Gambian people,” said Demba Dem, a former member of the Gambia’s Parliament. “I am glad that Mr Correa received a fair trial. It is more than I and many others received, but it is important for true justice.”
Mr Correa was initially arrested in September 2019 by the US Department of Homeland Security for overstaying an expired visa.
A coalition of Correa’s victims, Gambian civil society organisations, and international human rights organisations, including the Center for Justice and Accountability (CJA) and TRIAL International called on the US to investigate claims that Correa committed torture. This led to his indictment for torture in 2020. CJA now represents five of Mr Correa’s victims in the criminal prosecution with co-counsel King and Spalding LLP.
In April, a unanimous jury found Mr Correa guilty of torture and conspiracy to commit torture. At the trial, evidence established that Mr Correa was a member of the Junglers, a notorious death squad in The Gambia. Victims and witnesses testified that following an attempted coup against former President Jammeh’s dictatorship in 2006, Mr Correa and other Junglers brutally tortured suspected participants in the coup, including by beating them, suffocating them with plastic bags, and subjecting them to electric shocks.
“I pray that this sentence will send a resounding message to all purveyors of human suffering, that their cruelty will be met with severe punishment,” said Ramzia Diab, one of the Junglers’ victims and a survivor of torture. Ms Diab is a former member of The Gambia’s Parliament and former Gambian Ambassador to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). “It will show that the rule of law can reach even those who once believed they were untouchable.”
The case comes at an important moment for The Gambia’s transitional justice process. In 2021, the Gambian Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC) concluded that former president Jammeh and 69 of his associates, including Mr Correa, committed crimes against humanity in The Gambia. Most perpetrators have yet to be held accountable.
Elizabeth Mendy, widow of former Gambian Armed Forces lieutenant colonel Pierre Mendy said: “The TRRC gave Pierre a chance to speak, but nothing concrete has come from it. Justice sleeps in The Gambia. The Junglers who fled hide abroad. Those who stayed walk freely.” She asked the court to sentence Correa to life imprisonment to send a message to The Gambia to find the courage to move ahead with prosecutions.
Last year, The Gambia took significant steps towards justice, including passing legislation aimed at creating a war crimes tribunal in the Gambia and securing Ecowas’s approval to establish the tribunal. Victims hope that The Gambia will act swiftly to establish its hybrid court to prosecute the remaining perpetrators identified in the TRRC report.
“This decision will resonate far beyond this courtroom,” said Tamsir Jasseh, one of Mr Correa’s victims. He currently serves as advisor to the Gambian Police and spoke during today’s hearing. “The United States’ involvement in this case has already encouraged Gambian authorities to take accountability seriously. This trial is a catalyst, a jumpstart, for our nation’s journey toward truth, justice, and healing.” |
A clear conscience fears no accusation - proverb from Sierra Leone |
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Jungler Michael Sang Correa sentenced to 67 years
