DOJ Achieves Historic Conviction of Gambian Citizen for Torture

The Department of Justice (DOJ) recently announced the conviction of Gambian national Michael Sang Correa for his role in torturing numerous victims.

A Colorado jury found that Correa tortured five victims for their involvement in a failed coup in 2006 to overthrow former Gambian President Yahya Jammeh.

Correa reportedly worked in an army unit called “The Junglers” that responded directly to Jammeh and detained the alleged coup planners.  

Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, celebrated the jury’s decision. 

“Michael Sang Correa tried to evade responsibility for his crimes in The Gambia by coming to the United States and hiding his past,” said Head Galeotti. 

Correa’s conviction is the first-ever conviction of a non-U.S. citizen on torture charges in a federal district court, and only the third instance of a torture conviction overall.

“The lesson is: if you commit violent crimes—let alone torture or other human rights violations—do not come to the United States,” continued Galeotti. “If you do, the Department of Justice, together with its law enforcement partners, will leave no stone unturned to see that your crimes are exposed and justice is served.”

Correa reportedly brutalized the alleged 2006 coup schemers via diverse inhumane practices. 

These included burning victims with molten plastic, suffocating them, electrocuting their genitals, and extinguishing cigarettes on their skin. 

According to the DOJ, Correa moved to the US in 2016 and evaded arrest until 2019.

When finally apprehended in 2020, Correa was initially scheduled to be deported until he was charged with torture. 

Correa faces life in prison, as each of the 5 torture and conspiracy to commit torture counts he was convicted of carry a maximum of 20 years in prison each. 

In trying and convicting Correa, the court relied on a torture statute that permits the US to try perpetrators who committed torture outside the US but were subsequently seized within the US's jurisdiction.