By Kemo Kanyi
Michael Correa, a former Gambian soldier accused of being part of the “Jungle,” a death squad that committed human rights abuses under former President Yahya Jammeh, trial will start in September 2024 in the United States of America.
Correa was arrested in September 2019 for staying in the U.S. after his visa expired and was detained in a U.S. prison.
In 2020, the U.S. Department of Justice charged Correa with torture and conspiracy to commit the torture of at least six people.
The indictment alleges that Correa and other Junglers beat their victims, put plastic bags over their heads, and used electric shocks while they were interrogated, causing victims severe pain and suffering.
Correa was initially found and arrested in Denver. The trial is scheduled to take place between September 16 and 27, 2024. Correa’s trial will take place in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado in Denver.
The Junglers were a death squad established by former President Jammeh in the 2000s, allegedly to suppress his regime’s opponents.
The group reported directly to Jammeh and is alleged to have carried out widespread human rights violations, including enforced disappearances, torture, extrajudicial killing, sexual violence, and arbitrary detention.
Some members of the Junglers have already confessed to committing torture and other serious human rights abuses.
Another Jungler, Bai Lowe, was convicted in Germany and sentenced to life in prison in November 2023.
Former Interior Minister Ousman Sonko was tried in Switzerland in early 2024 for crimes against humanity and was convicted and sentenced to 20 years in prison in May 2024.
During his 22-year dictatorship in The Gambia, Yahya Jammehsystematically oppressed any real or perceived opponents of his regime. The government targeted journalists; human rights defenders; lawyers; student movement leaders; religious leaders; members of the political opposition; judicial officials, security officers, and others.
These groups suffered terrible violations, including torture, extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, and sexual violence.