DENVER (KAAB TV) – In a landmark verdict, Michael Sang Correa, a former Gambian soldier aligned with the notorious “Junglers” death squad under ex-dictator Yahya Jammeh, was sentenced today to 810 months (67½ years) in federal prison in the District of Colorado.
This unusually lengthy sentence marks a significant step in international justice and accountability for human rights abuses.
Correa was convicted in April 2025 after a jury found him guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit torture and five counts of torture, involving horrific abuses against individuals suspected of plotting against Jammeh’s regime in 2006.
Among the atrocities were burning victims’ flesh with molten plastic, electrocution (including to genitals), beatings while suspended upside down, suffocation with plastic bags, and bludgeoning—some even with a hammer or pistol.
Victims testified to deep physical and psychological scars.
This case represents the first conviction of a non-U.S. national on federal torture charges in U.S. courts, prosecuted under a rarely invoked law enabling U.S. jurisdiction over tortures committed abroad.
The law had previously only been used in two cases—both involving U.S. citizens.
Correa entered the U.S. in December 2016 under a visa, later overstaying. He remained at large until 2019, when ICE arrested him and initiated removal proceedings.
A grand jury indicted him in 2020, but the trial proceeded in April 2025 in Denver, featuring emotional testimonies from survivors—including former Gambian parliamentarian Demba Dem, who called the verdict “a victory of democracy, a victory of all the victims.
Survivors and human rights groups have hailed the verdict as a powerful message that perpetrators of gross human rights violations cannot evade accountability—even if they flee across borders. As one survivor put it at sentencing:
“Justice … is about restoring faith in the rule of law for victims like me, and for the Gambian people.”
The sentencing also comes amid ongoing efforts in The Gambia for domestic accountability—after the 2021 Truth, Reconciliation, and Reparations Commission identified Jammeh and his associates, including Correa, as responsible for crimes against humanity.
Authorities have underscored the importance of international cooperation and persistent investigation. Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti stated that “the United States will not be a safe haven for individuals who seek to conceal their egregious human rights violations.”
ICE’s Special Agent in Charge Steve Cagen emphasized that the sentence delivers a deterrent message: “If you commit these atrocities in your country, don’t come to the United States and seek refuge.”
The sentencing of Michael Sang Correa to 67½ years in prison is a landmark case in transnational justice. It brings a measure of retribution and closure for survivors of cruel torture, asserts the global reach of U.S. human rights laws, and reinforces the principle that perpetrators will be pursued—no matter how far they flee.