By Hadram Hydara, Denver, Colorado
First Federal Conviction of Non-U.S. Citizen for Torture
DENVER — A Colorado federal jury on Wednesday found Michael Sang Correa, 46, a Gambian national, guilty of conspiracy and five counts of torture for his role in the systematic abuse of political opponents under former Gambian dictator Yahya Jammeh.
The historic verdict marks the first time a non-U.S. citizen has been convicted of torture in a U.S. federal court.
Correa, a member of Jammeh’s clandestine paramilitary squad known as the “Junglers,” orchestrated the torture of victims at Gambia’s Mile 2 Prison in 2006. Witnesses testified that Correa and his unit targeted individuals suspected of plotting against Jammeh after a failed coup, subjecting them to beatings, electrocution, suffocation with plastic bags, and burns from molten plastic.
One survivor described being stabbed, suspended upside down, and dropped repeatedly in a sack, while another recounted having a pistol barrel forced into his mouth during interrogation.
“Michael Sang Correa tried to evade responsibility for his crimes in The Gambia by coming to the United States and hiding his past,” said Matthew R. Galeotti, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “But we found him, we investigated him, and we prosecuted him.”
Correa fled to the U.S. in 2016 under a visa but was arrested in 2019 after a multiyear investigation by ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). “Correa chose the wrong country to try to escape from justice,” said HSI Denver Special Agent Steve Cagen.
Graphic Testimonies Seal Cas
Victims like Tamsir Jasseh, Demba Demb, Sainey Bayo, Alieu Jobe, and Yaya Darboe, some of them travelling from The Gambia, delivered harrowing accounts of torture at the hands of the ‘Junglers’ during the trial.
They testified to being subjected to molten plastic burns on their thighs, cigarettes stubbed out on their skin, hammer blows to the face, and genital electrocution.
Prosecutors emphasised Correa’s direct involvement, including stabbing a victim in the shoulder and participating in mock executions.
Global Manhunt Ends in Colorado
After entering the U.S., Correa settled in Colorado until HSI, aided by the FBI and U.S. Embassy in The Gambia, uncovered his crimes through the Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Centre. He now faces up to 20 years per charge, with sentencing pending.
Acting U.S. Attorney J. Bishop Grewell praised the victims’ courage: “Today’s verdict shows you can’t hide from your past crimes in Colorado.”
The case underscores the DOJ’s pledge to pursue human rights abusers on U.S. soil. “If you commit torture, do not come here,” Galeotti warned. “We will leave no stone unturned.”
Trial support included HSI agents in Senegal and Gambian witnesses, and prosecution was led by the DOJ’s Human Rights Section and Colorado U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Correa will stay in U.S. custody while awaiting his sentencing, which the Court will schedule. A federal district court judge will decide the sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other legal considerations.
