A trial has commenced in Denver for Michael Sang Correa, a former soldier from Gambia, accused of participating in torture during a failed coup against the country’s longstanding ruler Yahya Jammeh. Correa, facing trial under a seldom-invoked U.S. law permitting prosecution for acts of torture committed internationally, was indicted in 2020. He is accused of torturing five individuals and conspiring with a military team known as the “Junglers,” directly accountable to Jammeh, to perpetuate these acts.
Correa’s defense argued that as a low-ranking private in Gambia’s military, he faced potential death or torture for disobeying orders from his superiors. His attorney, Jared Westbroek, emphasized to the jury that Correa’s circumstances in a fearful regime left him no room to choose or to consciously join a conspiracy. “Following an order is not the same as making an agreement,” he said, highlighting the difficulty of comprehending Correa’s predicament in a nation like the U.S., where personal freedoms are prevalent.
However, federal prosecutors maintained that despite the oppressive environment within the Junglers, some members opted against participation. Marie Zisa, a trial lawyer from the U.S. Department of Justice, stated, “The defendant is on trial today because of the choices he made,” urging the jury to convict Correa on all charges. Her vivid descriptions included an account of a soldier being enclosed in a bag, hoisted, and dropped, with some victims enduring hours-long beatings, underscoring the severity of the alleged crimes.
The trial’s early testimony, led by Maggie Dwyer, a senior lecturer at the University of Edinburgh specializing in African Studies, concentrated more on the context of Gambia’s post-colonial history. Ignited by Jammeh’s 1994 coup that ousted the country’s first president, his 22-year rule was marked by allegations of human rights abuses against those deemed threats to his power; he went into exile in 2017 after losing an election.
Correa reportedly arrived in the U.S. as Jammeh’s bodyguard in late 2016, but he stayed past his visa’s expiration following Jammeh’s departure. Since then, he has been residing in Denver, working as a day laborer. Human Rights Watch notes that Correa is the third individual to face U.S. prosecution for torturing abroad under this specific law. Other notable cases include Charles Taylor Jr., convicted in 2008 for torture in Liberia, and Ross Roggio, who was found guilty in 2023 for torturing a worker in Iraq.
Globally, other countries have pursued legal action against individuals linked to Jammeh’s regime. Swiss courts sentenced Gambia’s former interior minister to 20 years for crimes against humanity last year, while a Gambian member of the Junglers received a murder and crimes against humanity conviction in Germany this year, showing an international effort to address past injustices.