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Momodou
Denmark
11525 Posts |
 Posted - 15 Jun 2020 : 15:41:58
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Gambia: US Charges Alleged ‘Death Squad’ Member with Torture Correa Indictment is Major Advance for Victims of Abuses during Jammeh Rule
Foroyaa: June 12, 2020
https://foroyaa.net/gambia-us-charges-alleged-death-squad-member-with-torture-correa-indictment-is-major-advance-for-victims-of-abuses-during-jammeh-rule/
(Banjul, June 12, 2020) – The indictment in the United States on June 11, 2020 of an alleged former Gambian “death squad” member on torture charges is an important step for Gambian victims and international justice, a coalition of human rights groups said today.
Michael Sang Correa, 41, was an alleged member of the notorious “Junglers” death squad, set up by then-president Yahya Jammeh in the mid 1990s. Jammeh’s 22-year rule was marked by widespread human rights violations, including enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, sexual violence, torture, and arbitrary detention. Jammeh is currently in Equatorial Guinea, where he fled after losing the 2016 presidential election to Adama Barrow.
“I want to see justice done for me and for all the others who were victimized by Yahya Jammeh and his security forces,” said Baba Hydara, son of a newspaper editor, Deyda Hydara, who was killed in a 2004 operation in which Correa allegedly took part. “For us, the most important thing is to ensure that such abuses never happen again in Gambia or anywhere else.”
In its indictment before the US District Court of Colorado, the US Department of Justice alleges that Correa is responsible for the torture of at least six people in 2006, following an attempted coup against Jammeh. Correa and other Junglers allegedly beat their victims with plastic pipes, wires, and branches, covered the victims’ heads with plastic bags, and subjected some to electric shocks. The indictment further alleges that one victim was suspended over the ground in a rice bag and beaten severely while molten plastic or acid was dripped on other victims’ bodies.
Correa is also implicated in some of the Jammeh government’s other notorious crimes. Former Junglers told the Gambian Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission that Correa not only tortured people accused of planning the coup but also allegedly participated in the execution of former intelligence chief Daba Marenah and four associates in April 2006. In addition to these and the Hydara murder, former Jungler members also accused him of participating in the killing of journalist Chief Ebrima Manneh, 9 prison inmates in August 2012, and 2 Gambian-Americans, Alhagie Mamut Ceesay and Ebou Jobe, in 2013.
The truth commission is documenting human rights violations committed during Jammeh’s rule, including alleged crimes committed by the Junglers. The Gambian government, which has cooperated with the US investigation of Correa, has postponed prosecuting most alleged rights abusers until after the commission completes its work.
In September 2019, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested Correa in Colorado for overstaying his visa. Since his arrest, a coalition of victims and human rights organizations have urged justice officials in the US to investigate credible allegations of grave international crimes committed by Correa in Gambia. On February 18, US Senators Patrick Leahy and Richard Durbin also urged the government to investigate Correa and, if warranted, to prosecute him in the US.
The indictment of Correa is the first prosecution of a member of Jammeh’s death squads anywhere in the world, said the human rights groups, which include the African Network Against Extrajudicial Killings and Enforced Disappearances, the Center for Justice and Accountability, the Gambia Center for Victims of Human Rights Violations, the Guernica Centre for International Justice, Human Rights Watch, the Solo Sandeng Foundation, and TRIAL International. Gambia’s former interior minister Ousman Sonko, another Jammeh associate, is now in pretrial detention in Switzerland, where he is facing charges of crimes against humanity.
The Correa case, if it moves forward, will be only the second case to be tried by US officials under the federal extraterritorial torture statute, 18 USC §2340A, since its passage in 1994. The statute makes it a crime for anyone present in the US, regardless of whether they are a US citizen, to commit torture abroad. The law applies regardless of the nationality of the victim. The only other prosecution was of Charles “Chuckie” Taylor, Jr., the son of former Liberian president Charles Taylor, who was convicted in Jury Convicts Taylor Jr. in First US Prosecution for Torture Abroad | Hu…
On October 30, a federal jury in Miami issued a verdict in the first US prosecution for torture committed abroad…2008 by a court in Miami and is serving a 97-year sentence.
“Using the US torture statute to prosecute one of Jammeh’s key henchmen is an important moment for justice in Gambia,” said Ya Mamie Ceesay, mother of slain businessman Alhagie Mamut Ceesay. “Perpetrators of international crimes need to be held accountable, wherever they may be found.”
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A clear conscience fears no accusation - proverb from Sierra Leone |
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Momodou
Denmark
11525 Posts |
Posted - 15 Jun 2020 : 15:44:41
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Gambian Authorities Welcome Indictment of Jungler Michael Sang Correa
Foroyaa: June 15, 2020
https://foroyaa.net/gambian-authorities-welcome-indictment-of-jungler-michael-sang-correa/
The Ministry of Justice of the Republic of The Gambia Government said on Friday that it welcomes the indictment in the United
States of Mr Michael Sang Correa, a member of the Junglers Patrol Team under former President Jammeh, for alleged crimes of torture committed in The Gambia.
“The Ministry of Justice of the Republic of welcomes the indictment in the United States of Mr Michael Sang Correa, a member of the Junglers Patrol Team under former President Jammeh, for alleged crimes of torture committed in The Gambia”, said a press release issued by the Justice Ministry.
According to the release, the Ministry of Justice is particularly grateful to the United States Government for its continued strong support to and cooperation with The Gambia Government especially in respect of the on-going transitional justice process. The indictment of Mr Correa by US authorities is an extraordinary legal milestone, added the Gambian authorities.
“It demonstrates that no matter where such crimes are committed, and wherever the culprits may be hiding, global accountability mechanisms will reach them, and that there is no hiding place for those who commit such crimes in today’s world”, said the authorities.
They said the Government of The Gambia will continue to cooperate with US authorities in Mr Correa’s case, as well as in other active cases in the United States in which The Gambia Government has an interest.
“The Ministry also wishes to take this opportunity to renew its strong encouragement for those who are still at large to take advantage of the TRRC process while that window remains open. The alternative is to face certain prosecution for your crimes and there will be no hiding place or sanctuary for you. You can only run but you cannot hide forever, and you will be caught.”
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A clear conscience fears no accusation - proverb from Sierra Leone |
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Gambia: US Charges Alleged ‘Death Squad’
