On 15 April 2025, after a five-day trial in U.S. federal court, a Denver jury found Michael Sang Correa guilty of five counts of torture and one count of conspiracy to commit torture. Mr. Correa was a member of the Junglers, a notorious death squad in The Gambia.
Judge Christine M. Arguello, who presided over the trial, scheduled Mr. Correa’s sentencing for 22 August 2025. Mr. Correa faces up to 120 years in prison.
During the trial, victims and witnesses who traveled to Colorado from The Gambia testified that in 2006, Mr. Correa and other Junglers brutally tortured suspected participants in an attempted coup against former President Yahya Jammeh. Fatou Baldeh, Founder & CEO of Women in Liberation and Leadership (WILL), attended the trial. “It was very moving sitting in front of Mr. Correa and seeing the evidence presented by the prosecution,” she said. “The victims were afforded an opportunity to face their perpetrator, and you could see they got their power back.” Zainab Lowe, a prominent victims’ rights advocate in The Gambia, was also present in Denver for the trial. “The jury’s unanimous verdict was felt all the way in The Gambia” she said. “It sent a strong message that The Gambia must continue to work to ensure all Junglers are held to account and that other victims of human rights abuses get justice.”
At the sentencing hearing, both the prosecution and the defense will present arguments in support of the sentences they believe should be imposed. Some of Mr. Correa’s victims will have an opportunity to present statements describing how Correa’s s crimes impacted their lives. The U.S. government is recommending that Judge Arguello impose the maximum sentence of 120 years in prison.
“Correa’s conviction, together with a significant sentence will send a strong message to other Junglers and other human rights abusers, currently living with impunity that they will too face justice,” said Ayeshah Jammeh of the Gambian Center for Victims of Human Rights Violations and the Victim’s Podcast. “Correa’s sentencing also serves as a reminder to The Gambian government that there are still Junglers living freely in Banjul who must be brought to justice” said Muhammed Sandeng of the Solo Sandeng Foundation, “our government must follow through on its promise to establish a hybrid court to prosecute the remaining Jammeh-era perpetrators.”
After sentencing, Mr. Correa can appeal the jury’s verdict on limited grounds. For more information about Mr. Correa’s right to appeal, read our Frequently Asked Questions.
