A member of former president Yahya Jammeh’s feared hit squad, the Junglers, is being put on trial in the U.S. state of Colorado, CBS Denver reports.
Michael Sang Correa,41, was arraigned before a U.S. judge yesterday and accused of human rights crimes including torture and conspiracy in The Gambia.
A 14-page federal grand jury indictment alleges that in 2006, Correa conspired with others to commit torture against individuals suspected of plotting a failed coup attempt against former president Yahya Jammeh and that he inflicted torture on six victims.
The torture allegedly included beatings, extinguishing cigarettes on people, pouring molten plastic on them, and putting plastic bags over their heads. Some of the victims were reportedly U.S. citizens.
“Michael Correa allegedly committed heinous acts of violence against victim after victim in a brutal effort to coerce confessions from suspected coup plotters in The Gambia,” said Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.
“These charges underscore that the United States will not be a safe haven for perpetrators of torture and that human rights violators will be held accountable and brought to justice.”
“As federal prosecutors, our mission is to seek out injustice and to hold accountable those who perpetuate it, regardless of where it occurs,” said U.S. Attorney Jason R. Dunn.
“With this arrest, we are not only holding accountable a man who has allegedly committed horrific acts of torture against his own people, but demonstrating to the People of The Gambia, and indeed the entire world, that the United States stands for the rule of law and against those who abuse human rights.”
The Junglers were comprised of individuals who had been selected from the ranks of the Gambia Armed Forces and received orders from former president Yahya Jammeh.
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