A US court has dropped a charge of conspiring to commit torture against Michael Sang Correa, a former member of the alleged death squad of exiled Gambian President Yahya Jammeh. The charge was dismissed after a key witness failed to testify.

Correa is accused of being involved in gross human rights violations, including torture, in The Gambia.

Prosecutors at the US District Court in Colorado dropped the charge on Monday (7 April) after Bunja Darboe, a member of the Gambia Armed Forces, was unable to travel to testify. According to court filings, Darboe was “on deployment in another country”. The defence did not object to the dismissal.

The charge involved accusations that, between March 21 and April 8, 2006, while in The Gambia, Correa and others knowingly committed acts of torture against a person referred to as “Victim 4”, while acting under the authority of the law. The prosecution had alleged that Correa had aided and abetted in the commission of these acts.

Jury selection for the case began on Monday and is still ongoing. Once completed, opening statements from both the prosecution and defense will follow. If time permits, the prosecution is expected to call its first witness.

Correa, who is accused of being part of the “Junglers,” a paramilitary group allegedly responsible for carrying out extrajudicial killings and torture under Jammeh’s regime, faces several charges under a US law that allows for the prosecution of torture committed abroad.

By Adama Makasuba