“Now we have seen the Special Tribunal which is supposed to be supported by ECOWAS… We have seen the Special Prosecutor’s office trying to be set up. We hope that Universal Jurisdiction cases will continue to put pressure on the Gambian government and we are very grateful to the international organisations that are making sure that perpetrators who are not even in the country face justice wherever they are. It is also an alarm to tell other perpetrators or even people who are thinking of violating the rights of Gambians that they have nowhere to hide. They will be tried whenever, wherever, because justice will just catch up with them,” says Fatoumata Sandeng.
Fatoumata is the daughter of Ebrima Solo Sandeng, a former leader of the youth wing of UDP, the main opposition party under the dictatorship of Yahya Jammeh who has ruled The Gambia between July 1994 and January 2017. Her father died of torture on 15 April 2016 while in detention at the National Intelligence Agency (NIA). Since the fall of Jammeh, Fatoumata has been part of a civil society movement seeking justice for the crimes committed by Jammeh and his regime, including by a hit-squad called The Junglers. And what she is referring to when talking about universal jurisdiction cases is the coming trial of Michael Sang Correa, an alleged former Jungler, that opens on April 7 in Denver, Colorado, United States.
Correa, now 45, is allegedly amongst the soldiers who participated in the special training for Junglers in 2004. Although Junglers were part of the Gambia Armed Forces, they took orders directly from Jammeh. A national Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC) that investigated Jammeh’s crimes between 2018 and 2021 established the responsibility of Junglers in numerous crimes, including murders. Correa is tried for his alleged participation in torture following a failed coup in 2006.
Following Jammeh’s election loss in December 2016 and forced exile into Equatorial Guinea a few weeks later, Correa fled the country. In 2019, he was arrested in the United States for overstaying his visa. A coalition of human rights organisations urged the government to charge Correa for his involvement in other serious crimes. This eventually led to his indictment in 2020.
Torture at Gambia’s National Intelligence Agency
In 2006, several individuals, including civilians, were arrested, some tortured at the NIA following a foiled coup commonly known as the Ndure Cham coup. Colonel Ndure Cham was then Chief of Staff of the Gambian army. He stayed in hiding following the incident until 2013 when Junglers tracked him down and killed him. Several individuals were arrested after the coup attempt. They were subjected to interrogations and torture at the hands of Junglers at the NIA. Correa is one of the Junglers that the TRRC found responsible for these tortures.
According to the American indictment, Correa and other Junglers “beat victims, put plastic bags over their heads, and used electric shocks while they were interrogated.” Although Correa is specifically being tried for his participation in torture in 2006, he has been adversely mentioned at the Gambia’s TRRC for his participation in other serious crimes, including unlawful killings and disappearances such as the killing of veteran journalist Deyda Hydara in 2006 and the extrajudicial killings of at least 10 others.
“In the U.S., prosecutors have the discretion to decide which cases they bring. In making these decisions, prosecutors consider a range of factors, including available resources and documentation. The prosecutor has not disclosed why they chose to prosecute these specific alleged acts of torture and not others,” says Ela Matthews, senior staff attorney at the Center for Justice and Accountability (CJA), the lead American NGO that advocated for this case to be prosecuted. CJA is the legal counsel for several victims in this case. “The U.S. does not have legislation to prosecute many other crimes against humanity committed outside of its borders. This limits the type of charges that a prosecutor might bring.”
A rare case
Correa’s initial trial date was September 16 last year. Few days before the trial, it was postponed. Correa’s defense team had submitted a motion for his indictment to be dismissed because the government failed to provide assurance that two of his key witnesses would be granted immunity during the period they are present in the U.S. to give testimony. The court denied this motion.
Correa’s lawyers also filed a motion for the court to delay the trial whilst the defense team travelled to Gambia to obtain sworn depositions from the witnesses. This motion was granted. According to the defense, the testimonies of Momodou Hydara, former deputy director of the NIA, and of Alieu Jeng, a former Jungler, would prove that Correa was coerced and under duress whilst participating in those tortures. Hydara and Jeng both testified before the TRRC and there is incriminating evidence against them before the commission, some of which they accepted responsibility for.
The U.S. is trying Correa under the extraterritorial Torture Act. This is the first time a non-US citizen is being tried under this law for acts committed outside the U.S. “The Department of Justice has rarely charged human rights violators with substantive human rights charges, instead relying on charges for immigration violations. This is why Correa is only the third person charged under the Torture Act, which was enacted in 1994,” says Matthews.
The trial is to take place from April 7 to April 18. Correa could receive up to 20 years imprisonment for each of the six counts of torture if found guilty, which could amount to 140 years if found guilty on all charges.
Disclaimer: The trip of a handful of Gambian journalists to cover the trial of Michael Sang Correa in the United States was made possible thanks to funding from the Center for Justice and Accountability, an American organization that is a party to the trial where it represents victims. Our correspondent in Gambia is one of the beneficiaries of this funding, without which no Gambian journalist would have been able to cover this trial. We will maintain our independence and balance in the coverage of this trial.
