Sentencing Hearing for Michael Correa scheduled

U.S. Federal Court will be conducting sentencing hearing of former Jungler, Michael Sang Correa on 22 August 2025, in Denver, Colorado, USA.

On 15 April 2025, after a five-day trial in U.S. federal court, a Denver jury found Michael Sang Correa guilty of five counts of torture and one count of conspiracy to commit torture. Mr. Correa was a member of the Junglers, a notorious death squad in The Gambia.

Judge Christine M. Arguello, who presided over the trial, scheduled Mr. Correa’s sentencing for 22 August 2025. Mr. Correa faces up to 120 years in prison.

During the trial, victims and witnesses who traveled to Colorado from The Gambia testified that in 2006, Mr. Correa and other Junglers brutally tortured suspected participants in an attempted coup against former President Yahya Jammeh. Fatou Baldeh, Founder & CEO of Women in Liberation and Leadership (WILL), attended the trial. “It was very moving sitting in front of Mr. Correa and seeing the evidence presented by the prosecution,” she said. “The victims were afforded an opportunity to face their perpetrator, and you could see they got their power back.” Zainab Lowe, a prominent victims’ rights advocate in The Gambia, was also present in Denver for the trial. “The jury’s unanimous verdict was felt all the way in The Gambia” she said. “It sent a strong message that The Gambia must continue to work to ensure all Junglers are held to account and that other victims of human rights abuses get justice.”

At the sentencing hearing, both the prosecution and the defense will present arguments in support of the sentences they believe should be imposed. Some of Mr. Correa’s victims will have an opportunity to present statements describing how Correa’s s crimes impacted their lives. The U.S. government is recommending that Judge Arguello impose the maximum sentence of 120 years in prison.

“Correa’s conviction, together with a significant sentence will send a strong message to other Junglers and other human rights abusers, currently living with impunity that they will too face justice,” said Ayeshah Jammeh of the Gambian Center for Victims of Human Rights Violations and the Victim’s Podcast. “Correa’s sentencing also serves as a reminder to The Gambian government that there are still Junglers living freely in Banjul who must be brought to justice” said Muhammed Sandeng of the Solo Sandeng Foundation, “our government must follow through on its promise to establish a hybrid court to prosecute the remaining Jammeh-era perpetrators.”

After sentencing, Mr. Correa can appeal the jury’s verdict on limited grounds. For more information about Mr. Correa’s right to appeal, read our Frequently Asked Questions.

About the Alliance of Victim-Led Organisations (AVLO)

The Alliance of Victim-Led Organisations (AVLO) is a coalition of Gambian civil society organizations that has been championing and representing the interests of victims of human rights violations in The Gambia

About the Center for Justice & Accountability

The Center for Justice and Accountability (CJA) is a United States-based international human rights organization dedicated to working with communities impacted by torture, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and other serious human rights abuses to seek truth, justice, and redress using innovative litigation and transitional justice strategies.

About TRIAL International

TRIAL International is an international NGO fighting impunity for international crimes such as genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, torture, enforced disappearances and conflict-related sexual violence. Founded in 2002, it has offices in Switzerland, Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

More Information

Read answers to Frequently Asked Questions here.

Or please contact:

• Anja Härtwig, TRIAL International, in Geneva (English, French, German): media@trialinternational.org, +41 22 519 03 96
• Sirra Ndow, Alliance of Victim-Led Organisations, in Banjul (English): avlogambia@gmail.com, +2203737766
• Ela Matthews, The Center for Justice and Accountability, in London (English): ematthews@cja.org, +44 78 627 28 939