A former Gambian soldier, Michael Sang Correa, has been found guilty of torture charges in a US court for his involvement in crimes committed during the rule of former strongman Yahya Jammeh.
Correa, a member of the notorious “Junglers” military unit, was convicted of being part of a conspiracy to commit torture against suspected opponents of Jammeh’s regime.
The Justice Department described the torture inflicted by Correa and his co-conspirators as “abhorrent,” involving electrocution, smothering with plastic bags, beating, stabbing, and burning of victims.
Correa, who was detained in the US in 2019 for overstaying his visa, faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each of the five torture counts and the count of conspiracy to commit torture.
This conviction marks a significant milestone, as Correa is the first non-US citizen to be convicted on torture charges in a federal district court for crimes committed overseas.
The trial was made possible under a rarely used law that allows the US judicial system to try individuals for torture allegedly committed abroad.
The case highlights the ongoing efforts to bring to justice those responsible for human rights abuses during Jammeh’s 23-year rule, which was characterized by widespread oppression, torture, extrajudicial killings, and enforced disappearances. In 2021, a Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC) concluded that crimes committed by the Junglers and others under Jammeh’s rule amounted to war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Last year, Jammeh’s former interior minister was sentenced to 20 years in jail by a Swiss court for crimes against humanity.
