A United States court has sentenced Michael Sang Correa, a former member of Gambia’s feared Junglers death squad, to 67 and a half years in prison for his role in the brutal torture of detainees under former President Yahya Jammeh’s regime.
Correa, 46, was found guilty on five counts of torture and one count of conspiracy to commit torture, crimes linked to the 2006 crackdown on suspected coup plotters in Banjul.
According to court filings, Correa and his accomplices subjected victims to extreme cruelty, including savage beatings, electrocution, burning with molten plastic and acid, suffocation with plastic bags, and physical assaults with hammers and firearms.
Many of the detainees were kept in secret chambers, where they endured weeks of dehumanising abuse.
“Today, Michael Correa has finally been held accountable for the brutal violence he inflicted on others,” Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti said, stressing that the U.S. will not serve as a safe haven for human rights violators.
This conviction marks the first time a non-U.S. national has been prosecuted under federal torture laws and the first global conviction of a Jungler operative.
The Justice Department underscored that the ruling sends a strong message to abusers worldwide that accountability is possible, no matter how long it takes.
Victims who testified at the trial recounted harrowing experiences. One survivor described being suspended in a bag and dropped repeatedly to the ground; another said a pistol was shoved into his mouth while suffocating under a plastic covering.
Correa fled Gambia and entered the U.S. in December 2016, settling in Colorado before being arrested by immigration officials in 2019.
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He was formally charged in 2020, following years of investigation and cooperation between U.S. and international authorities.
During sentencing, victims and human rights advocates welcomed the verdict.
Tamsir Jasseh, one of Correa’s victims, said the case had reignited hope that Gambian authorities would pursue justice for other crimes committed during Jammeh’s 22-year rule.
Others, including Yaya Darboe and Elizabeth Mendy, called the judgment a step toward closure and accountability.
“This sentence delivers a measure of justice for the victims and affirms that the United States stands firmly with those whose human rights have been violated,” said U.S. Attorney Peter McNeilly for the District of Colorado.
Correa’s conviction is being hailed internationally as a milestone in the global fight against impunity.
For many Gambians, it represents the first real measure of justice for atrocities committed under Jammeh, who remains in exile in Equatorial Guinea.