Michael Sang Correa goes on trial on April 7, 2025, in Denver, Colorado. The alleged member of the Gambian death squad called the Junglers faces serious legal trouble. US prosecutors charged him with six counts of torture plus one count of planning torture with others. These crimes happened back in The Gambia when Yahya Jammeh ruled as dictator.
This case breaks new ground as the first time someone who isn't American will face a US federal court for torture committed in another country. After a failed attempt to overthrow Jammeh in 2006, Correa reportedly hurt people suspected of joining that effort. Court papers say he beat them, put plastic bags over their heads until they couldn't breathe, and shocked them with electricity.
The US government brought these charges using the Extraterritorial Torture Act. This law lets America put people on trial for torture done abroad if they later end up inside US borders. Since lawmakers created this Act in 1994, only two other trials have happened under it. Several human rights groups pushed hard for the US to look into what Correa did in The Gambia.
These organizations include the Center for Justice and Accountability, working alongside King and Spalding LLP. They represent some people who say Correa hurt them. The trial matters greatly for those harmed during Jammeh's harsh rule. His government regularly made people disappear, killed without trials, sexually attacked citizens, and locked people up without reason. Originally planned for September 2024, the trial will run April 7-18, 2025, at the Alfred A Arraj United States Courthouse.
This case breaks new ground as the first time someone who isn't American will face a US federal court for torture committed in another country. After a failed attempt to overthrow Jammeh in 2006, Correa reportedly hurt people suspected of joining that effort. Court papers say he beat them, put plastic bags over their heads until they couldn't breathe, and shocked them with electricity.
The US government brought these charges using the Extraterritorial Torture Act. This law lets America put people on trial for torture done abroad if they later end up inside US borders. Since lawmakers created this Act in 1994, only two other trials have happened under it. Several human rights groups pushed hard for the US to look into what Correa did in The Gambia.
These organizations include the Center for Justice and Accountability, working alongside King and Spalding LLP. They represent some people who say Correa hurt them. The trial matters greatly for those harmed during Jammeh's harsh rule. His government regularly made people disappear, killed without trials, sexually attacked citizens, and locked people up without reason. Originally planned for September 2024, the trial will run April 7-18, 2025, at the Alfred A Arraj United States Courthouse.
