{"id":84815,"date":"2025-08-26T16:53:33","date_gmt":"2025-08-26T16:53:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/uncategorized\/former-jungler-sentenced-to-over-67-years-for-torture"},"modified":"2025-08-26T17:59:11","modified_gmt":"2025-08-26T17:59:11","slug":"former-jungler-sentenced-to-over-67-years-for-torture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/former-jungler-sentenced-to-over-67-years-for-torture","title":{"rendered":"Former Jungler Sentenced to over 67 Years for Torture"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #ff6600\"><strong>Africa-Press &#8211; Gambia. <\/strong><\/span><b>A US federal judge sentenced Michael Correa to 810 months or 67 years in prison for torture committed in The Gambia in 2006.<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Judge Christine M Arguello, who presided over Mr Correa\u2019s trial in April, heard from victims about the impact the torture they experienced at the hands of Mr Correa and other Junglers, (a hit squad answerable to former Gambian dictator Yahya Jammeh) had on their lives and that of their families.<\/p>\n<p>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 \u201cmust be held fully accountable for his actions. \u201cWhen 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.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJustice 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,\u201d said Demba Dem, a former member of the Gambia\u2019s Parliament. \u201cI 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.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mr Correa was initially arrested in September 2019 by the US Department of Homeland Security for overstaying an expired visa.<\/p>\n<p>A coalition of Correa\u2019s victims, Gambian civil society organisations, and international human rights organisations, including the Center for Justice and Accountability (CJA) and TRIAL International called on the US to investigate claims that Correa committed torture. This led to his indictment for torture in 2020. CJA now represents five of Mr Correa\u2019s victims in the criminal prosecution with co-counsel King and Spalding LLP.<\/p>\n<p>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 Jammeh\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI pray that this sentence will send a resounding message to all purveyors of human suffering, that their cruelty will be met with severe punishment,\u201d said Ramzia Diab, one of the Junglers\u2019 victims and a survivor of torture. Ms Diab is a former member of The Gambia\u2019s Parliament and former Gambian Ambassador to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). \u201cIt will show that the rule of law can reach even those who once believed they were untouchable.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The case comes at an important moment for The Gambia\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth Mendy, widow of former Gambian Armed Forces lieutenant colonel Pierre Mendy said: \u201cThe 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.\u201d 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.<\/p>\n<p>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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis decision will resonate far beyond this courtroom,\u201d said Tamsir Jasseh, one of Mr Correa\u2019s victims. He currently serves as advisor to the Gambian Police and spoke during today\u2019s hearing. \u201cThe United States\u2019 involvement in this case has already encouraged Gambian authorities to take accountability seriously. This trial is a catalyst, a jumpstart, for our nation\u2019s journey toward truth, justice, and healing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>For More News And Analysis About <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">Gambia<\/span> Follow <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Africa-Press &#8211; Gambia. A US federal judge sentenced Michael Correa to 810 months or 67 years in prison for torture committed in The Gambia in 2006. Judge Christine M Arguello, who presided over Mr Correa\u2019s trial in April, heard from victims about the impact the torture they experienced at the hands of Mr Correa and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":84814,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,12],"tags":[260],"class_list":["post-84815","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-gambia"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.1 (Yoast SEO v27.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Former Jungler Sentenced to over 67 Years for Torture - Gambia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A US federal judge sentenced Michael Correa to 810 months or 67 years in prison for torture committed in The Gambia i ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/former-jungler-sentenced-to-over-67-years-for-torture\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Former Jungler Sentenced to over 67 Years for Torture\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A US federal judge sentenced Michael Correa to 810 months or 67 years in prison for torture committed in The Gambia i ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/former-jungler-sentenced-to-over-67-years-for-torture\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Gambia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-08-26T16:53:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-08-26T17:59:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2025\/08\/sm_1756218473.636249.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/former-jungler-sentenced-to-over-67-years-for-torture#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/former-jungler-sentenced-to-over-67-years-for-torture\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Former Jungler Sentenced to over 67 Years for Torture\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-08-26T16:53:33+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-08-26T17:59:11+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/former-jungler-sentenced-to-over-67-years-for-torture\"},\"wordCount\":701,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/former-jungler-sentenced-to-over-67-years-for-torture#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2025\/08\/sm_1756218473.636249.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Gambia\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/former-jungler-sentenced-to-over-67-years-for-torture#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/former-jungler-sentenced-to-over-67-years-for-torture\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/former-jungler-sentenced-to-over-67-years-for-torture\",\"name\":\"Former Jungler Sentenced to over 67 Years for Torture - Gambia\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/former-jungler-sentenced-to-over-67-years-for-torture#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/former-jungler-sentenced-to-over-67-years-for-torture#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2025\/08\/sm_1756218473.636249.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-08-26T16:53:33+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-08-26T17:59:11+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"description\":\"A US federal judge sentenced Michael Correa to 810 months or 67 years in prison for torture committed in The Gambia i ...\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/former-jungler-sentenced-to-over-67-years-for-torture#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/former-jungler-sentenced-to-over-67-years-for-torture\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/former-jungler-sentenced-to-over-67-years-for-torture#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2025\/08\/sm_1756218473.636249.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2025\/08\/sm_1756218473.636249.jpg\",\"width\":1280,\"height\":720,\"caption\":\"Former Jungler Sentenced to over 67 Years for Torture\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/former-jungler-sentenced-to-over-67-years-for-torture#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Former Jungler Sentenced to over 67 Years for Torture\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/\",\"name\":\"Gambia\",\"description\":\"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\",\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"cfeditoren\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Former Jungler Sentenced to over 67 Years for Torture - Gambia","description":"A US federal judge sentenced Michael Correa to 810 months or 67 years in prison for torture committed in The Gambia i ...","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/former-jungler-sentenced-to-over-67-years-for-torture","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Former Jungler Sentenced to over 67 Years for Torture","og_description":"A US federal judge sentenced Michael Correa to 810 months or 67 years in prison for torture committed in The Gambia i ...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/former-jungler-sentenced-to-over-67-years-for-torture","og_site_name":"Gambia","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa","article_published_time":"2025-08-26T16:53:33+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-08-26T17:59:11+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1280,"height":720,"url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2025\/08\/sm_1756218473.636249.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"cfeditoren","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"cfeditoren","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/former-jungler-sentenced-to-over-67-years-for-torture#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/former-jungler-sentenced-to-over-67-years-for-torture"},"author":{"name":"cfeditoren","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"headline":"Former Jungler Sentenced to over 67 Years for Torture","datePublished":"2025-08-26T16:53:33+00:00","dateModified":"2025-08-26T17:59:11+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/former-jungler-sentenced-to-over-67-years-for-torture"},"wordCount":701,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/former-jungler-sentenced-to-over-67-years-for-torture#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2025\/08\/sm_1756218473.636249.jpg","keywords":["Gambia"],"articleSection":["all news","policy"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/former-jungler-sentenced-to-over-67-years-for-torture#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/former-jungler-sentenced-to-over-67-years-for-torture","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/former-jungler-sentenced-to-over-67-years-for-torture","name":"Former Jungler Sentenced to over 67 Years for Torture - Gambia","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/former-jungler-sentenced-to-over-67-years-for-torture#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/former-jungler-sentenced-to-over-67-years-for-torture#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2025\/08\/sm_1756218473.636249.jpg","datePublished":"2025-08-26T16:53:33+00:00","dateModified":"2025-08-26T17:59:11+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"description":"A US federal judge sentenced Michael Correa to 810 months or 67 years in prison for torture committed in The Gambia i ...","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/former-jungler-sentenced-to-over-67-years-for-torture#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/former-jungler-sentenced-to-over-67-years-for-torture"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/former-jungler-sentenced-to-over-67-years-for-torture#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2025\/08\/sm_1756218473.636249.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2025\/08\/sm_1756218473.636249.jpg","width":1280,"height":720,"caption":"Former Jungler Sentenced to over 67 Years for Torture"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/former-jungler-sentenced-to-over-67-years-for-torture#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Former Jungler Sentenced to over 67 Years for Torture"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/","name":"Gambia","description":"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb","name":"cfeditoren","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"cfeditoren"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84815","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/84"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=84815"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84815\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/84814"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=84815"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=84815"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=84815"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}