Former Jungler sentenced to over 67 years for torture

Denver, Colorado, USA – Today, a federal judge sentenced Michael Sang Correa to 810 months or 67.5 years in prison for torture committed in The Gambia in 2006.

During today’s sentencing hearing, Judge Christine M. Arguello, who presided over Mr. Correa’s trial in April, heard from victims about the impact the torture they experienced at the hands of Mr. Correa and other Junglers had on their lives and that of their families.

Yaya Darboe, a commanding officer in the Gambian Armed Forces, who had been tortured by Mr. Correa asked the Court to impose a 40-year sentence because Mr. Correa “must be held fully accountable for his actions. When I saw him in Colorado at the trial, he was smiling, showing no remorse. He tried to escape justice. He should not be allowed to do so.”

“Justice in this case is not only about punishment; it is about restoring faith in the rule of law for victims like me, and for the Gambian people,” said Demba Dem, a former member of The Gambia’s Parliament. “I am glad that Mr. Correa received a fair trial. It is more than I and many others received, but it is important for true justice.”

Mr. Correa was initially arrested in September 2019 by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for overstaying an expired visa. A coalition of Correa’s victims, Gambian civil society organizations, and international human rights organizations, including the Center for Justice and Accountability (CJA) and TRIAL International called on the U.S. to investigate claims that Correa committed torture. This led to his indictment for torture in 2020. CJA now represents five of Mr. Correa’s victims in the criminal prosecution with co-counsel King and Spalding LLP.

In April, a unanimous jury found Mr. Correa guilty of torture and conspiracy to commit torture. At the trial, evidence established that Mr. Correa was a member of the Junglers, a notorious death squad in The Gambia. Victims and witnesses testified that following an attempted coup against former President Yahya Jammeh’s dictatorship in 2006, Mr. Correa and other Junglers brutally tortured suspected participants in the coup, including by beating them, suffocating them with plastic bags, and subjecting them to electric shocks.

“I pray that this sentence will send a resounding message to all purveyors of human suffering, that their cruelty will be met with severe punishment,” said Ramzia Diab, one of the Junglers’ victims and a survivor of torture. Ms. Diab is a former member of The Gambia’s Parliament and former Gambian Ambassador to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). “It will show that the rule of law can reach even those who once believed they were untouchable.”

The case comes at an important moment for The Gambia’s transitional justice process. In 2021, the Gambian Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC) concluded that former president Jammeh and 69 of his associates, including Mr. Correa, committed crimes against humanity in The Gambia. Most perpetrators have yet to be held accountable.

Elizabeth Mendy, widow of former Gambian Armed Forces lieutenant colonel Pierre Mendy said: “The TRRC gave Pierre a chance to speak, but nothing concrete has come from it. Justice sleeps in The Gambia. The Junglers who fled hide abroad. Those who stayed walk freely.” She asked the court to sentence Correa to life imprisonment to send a message to The Gambia to find the courage to move ahead with prosecutions.

Last year The Gambia took significant steps towards justice, including passing legislation aimed at creating a war crimes tribunal in the Gambia and securing ECOWAS’s approval to establish the tribunal. Victims hope that The Gambia will act swiftly to establish its hybrid court to prosecute the remaining perpetrators identified in the TRRC report.

“This decision will resonate far beyond this courtroom,” said Tamsir Jasseh, one of Mr. Correa’s victims. He currently serves as advisor to the Gambian Police and spoke during today’s hearing. “The United States’ involvement in this case has already encouraged Gambian authorities to take accountability seriously. This trial is a catalyst, a jumpstart, for our nation’s journey toward truth, justice, and healing.”

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

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Or please contact:

• 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
• Anja Härtwig, TRIAL International, in Geneva (English, French, German): media@trialinternational.org, +41 22 519 03 96