Landmark trial starting in Denver federal court on torture accusations

DENVER — An unprecedented trial began Monday in Denver’s federal district courthouse.

In 2020, Michael Sang Correa, who hails from The Gambia in West Africa, faced indictment, marking the first instance of a non-United States citizen being prosecuted under Title 18, U.S. torture laws.

The indictment outlines that Correa arrived in the United States in 2016 and later established residence in Denver. He stands accused of one charge of conspiracy to commit torture and six charges of inflicting torture on specific individuals, for offenses reportedly committed in The Gambia in 2006.

Legal representatives for some of Correa’s purported victims have noted that this trial is only the third of its kind under the Torture Act since its enactment in 1994.

The indictment claims Correa was a member of an armed unit known as the Junglers that answered to the former Gambian President Yahya Jammeh.

According to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Junglers were composed of individuals selected from the ranks of the Gambia Armed Forces (GAF) but operated outside the regular GAF chain of command. Jammeh learned that individuals within The Gambia were attempting to overthrow his government. Those individuals were subsequently arrested and “subjected to severe physical and mental abuses,” according to the indictment.

Prosecutors allege Correa and other members of the Junglers severely beat their victims, suffocated them with plastic bags, and inflicted other forms of torture. In one case, he beat a victim with sticks, palm branches, and wires and extinguished a cigarette on the victim, the indictment said.

At the time of the indictment, previous U.S. Attorney Jason Dunn said, “With this arrest, we are not only holding accountable a man who has allegedly committed horrific acts of torture against his own people, but demonstrating to the People of The Gambia, and indeed the entire world, that the United States stands for the rule of law and against those who abuse human rights.”

The trial is expected to last until Friday, April 18.

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