By Sanna Camara

As the prosecution draws a curtain on the crime of torture trial in the US of a member of the Yahya Jammeh paramilitary death squad, the panel of jury became overwhelmingly convinced that the acts of torture committed against Gambians by Michael Correa were inexcusable by any human standards. Neither the attempts by the defence to sway the jury into believing that Correa acted on orders, nor his attempts to flee prosecutions in The Gambia could save his skin. He was found guilty as charged!

It had been chilling moments in the court room, between April 7 and 10, and the close of the prosecution’s case on the 14th in Denver, Colorado, last week. Details of the torture, beatings and human rights abuses have been presented through multiple witness testimonies – from victims who travelled thousands of kilometers across the Atlantic, to corroborate the US Justice Department’s indictment of Michael Correa.

As a former Gambian soldier had been a member of the Junglers – a group of paramilitary death squad created in 1996, operating outside the structure of the country’s law enforcement agencies, and answerable only to Yahya Jammeh, Correa had undergone specialised bodyguard training in Kanilai around 2004, later joined the border patrol team on Southern Gambia before joining the notorious criminal gang of Junglers. During their operations under the Yahya Jammeh regime, they have been implicated in series of torture cases, extrajudicial killings and disappearances of supposed opponents of the former president.

The Gambia’s Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC) in 2021 had concluded that the crimes committed by the Junglers and others, amounted to war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Mr Correa, who entered the United States in 2016, accompanying the then vice president to the UN General Assembly that coincided with the political transition in Banjul, stayed behind for what he said, was fear of reprisal for things he didn’t do in The Gambia. After he was arrested in 2019 on immigration grounds for overstaying his visa, Mr Correa would tell the court last week, when asked why he had not returned to The Gambia, that, he “feared being jailed for something that [he] didn’t do.”

Some of the details that were used as additional evidence against him came up in an audio recording of his interview upon arrest in 2019, when he was interviewed by an agent of the US Homeland Security Investigations, Special Agent Mathew Gifford. Correa had already been under the radar of the US law enforcement since he joined Junglers in 2006.  Special Agent Gifford who worked at the U.S. Embassy in Senegal, had investigated Michael Correa, and ultimately located him in the United States. Records from Western Union revealed that Correa had been sending money to family members, which helped track his whereabouts in the US.

The Prosecution emphasized—and Agent Garrison confirmed—that Correa’s fear only arose after President Jammeh lost power. In their opening statement, Prosecution informed the court that Michael Correa fled the Gambia to start a new life in the US in 2016.

His time as a Jungler

Correa described his early military career and his transition into the Junglers, initially referring to them as a “patrol team.” He mentioned attending a “jungle” training in Kanilai in 2004 to become a bodyguard, and that afterward, his job focused on patrolling the Gambia-Senegal border.

Everything changed for him in 2006, when a planned coup against Jammeh by his Army Chief, Colonel Ndure Cham, was prematurely hatched, leading to dozens of arrests. At first, Correa claimed that his only role during this crisis was to arrest and transport suspects to the NIA. He had denied involvement in the interrogations.

However, when Garrison – during investigations – asked if he (Correa) was a Jungler, Correa hesitated, only to admit later, that he was indeed, a Jungler. In the final excerpt from the interview, Garrison asked Correa if he had witnessed torture. Again, Correa initially denied it but then admitted that he was “following orders” and felt sorry.

He eventually admitted to witnessing torture but maintained that he never participated.

From its opening statements through the subsequent days of court sessions, witness after witness detailed how Mr Correa participated actively in torture of suspected participants in the coup – from civilians to military officers – most of the latter were his superiors in service, while others commanded and trained him as a junior intake in the Army.

Foor instance, Correa had previously served under his command of Yaya N. Darboe and Pharing Sanynag – both of whom have become his torture victim. Prosecution had asked Darboe whether members of the Gambia Armed Forces (GAF) were expected to follow illegal or unconstitutional orders, such as torture. Darboe said, no.

He recalled Correa as an obedient soldier who followed orders, but his actions were his personal choices that is based on overzealousness. Such acts as melt plastic or use of wire coils on suspects were direct acts of the suspect himself.

During cross-examination, the defense focused on the chain of command within the GAF and the Junglers, arguing that those closer to President Jammeh were at higher risk of execution.

Another witness, Bayo, recalled that when Sulayman Badjie arrested him, he (Badjie) had cried, as he had trained under Bayo. He testified that Badjie later refused to take part in his torture for that reason.

The Cruel Acts of Torture

“I saw Michael Correa standing over me with a wire coil,” said witness Yaya Darboe, who told the court that Michael Correa was one of the people that beat him: in his testimony, Michael Correa participated more than other Junglers in acts of torture. Mr. Darboe described Michael Correa as “appearing aggressive”, stating, “I couldn’t believe it was the Michael Correa I knew before.”

For the Jury Panel and the Judge, witnesses detailed “different “approaches” to the torture they underwent. One area was referred to as the “burial area” – where you contend that your next fate is being buried after all the worse acts had been administered on you.

“The Junglers placed a cement block on me and sat on it. They put out lit cigarettes on my body, insulted me, and slapped me,” the witness said. “Sometimes, they used sticks, wire coils, and whips to beat me,” he testified, adding that Michael Correa was one of the people who beat him.

“I saw Michael Correa standing over me with a wire coil.” That was the first phase.

Then there is a second phase of the interrogation, when he was struck in the eye with an object and lost consciousness. His eye bled and Correa still put a nylon bag over his head until one Jungler had to ask him to stop due to the severe bleeding from the eye.

Another witness, Pharing Sanyang, worked at the State House as the “Commander of the Commandos” in 2006, where he conducted rescue and weapons training for them, including Michael Correa.

On March 26, 2006, Sanyang was arrested in connection with coup and taken to the NIA. On the way, he said that Malick Jatta, another Jungler, hit him on the head with his pistol. He said the scars from that attack still hurt him to this day. Upon arriving at the NIA, the Jungler Jatta, again, hit him on the jaw with a hammer, breaking his tooth.

Sanyang was taken to the “burial grounds” outside. There, Jatta stabbed him with a bayonet, put out cigarettes on his arms, stomped on him, and threw sand in his eyes while others beat him. Sanyang needed multiple operations on both eyes afterward and still has impaired vision.

Sanyang identified Correa as one of the people who beat him at the NIA. Although Correa wore a mask, he recognized him by his gait, having trained him in the past.

Ebou Jarjue, a relative of Musa Jammeh, who served as a waiter at the State House from 2001 to 2008, also testified in the case. Jarjue said he was excited about the new role at the State House at first, the thought of working for a young, new leader. But he quickly came to regret it, especially after realizing that employees at the State House were not free to resign.

Mr Jarjue recalled grilling food for the Junglers, after they returned from conducting arrests. He said he felt unsafe in the State House due to the President’s paranoia and unpredictability. For instance, he described once overhearing the President order Musa Jammeh to take Tamsir Jasseh, another witness, to the “truth talk” room – another level of interrogation.

In 2008, Jarjue was accused of attempting to poison President Jammeh and was arrested. He was first detained for over nine months and later imprisoned at Mile II for four years.

Tamsir Jasseh, described Correa as “overzealous,” saying, he (Correa) was “having fun, enjoying himself.”

In the courtyard, Correa and others whipped him with banana branches, and Musa Jammeh broke a plastic chair over his head, held a phone to his mouth so President Jammeh could hear his screams and know that Jasseh wasn’t being treated differently despite his U.S. citizenship.

The defense tried to draw a link between the actions of the torture suspect and his purported orders coming from higher command. For instance, they also argued that that photos and videos of their actions were transferred to President Jammeh.

To this, Yaya N. Darboe testified that photos and videos of his torture were sent to President Jammeh.

“The victims have not forgotten his [Michael Correa’s] cruelty. They have not forgotten him,” the prosecutors told the court. “The victims flew halfway across the world to explain to the jury what they endured,” he emphasized, arguing that Mr Correa and the Junglers had choices, and chose to torture the victims.

Correa’s defense team, on the other hand, maintained that he had no choice as a mere private soldier at the very bottom of the army hierarchy. They further argued that if Correa did not comply with orders, he would have faced imprisonment, torture, and possibly death for being perceived disloyal to President Jammeh.

The defense argued that Correa is not guilty because he was “under duress” at the time the alleged torturing occurred. They further indicated that Correa was coerced, and that he was not high enough in ranking to be part of a conspiracy to torture the victims.

Notwithstanding these testimonies from the witnesses, the defense strategy to convince the jury that Mr Correa merely followed orders, was enough justification for committing crimes of torture against people. Under the U.S. Torture Act, a law that allows prosecution for acts of torture committed abroad when the accused is found on American soil, Correa faced a dilemma of owning up to his responsibility in acts of torture, even when orders allegedly came down to him.

The question for our security in The Gambia remains, are all orders justified even when they are unlawful? Can following orders justify one’s conduct in violating laws and committing crimes against fellow citizens? Will Correas guilty verdict serve as a lesson to others who are awaiting their day in court, that there is no escape from their crimes against Gambians and other nationals? Only time would tell.

The author has extensive experience in covering international justice cases – from ICC at The Hague, to ECOWAS Court, and the Ousman Sonko trial in Switzerland. He has also visited the International Court of Justice and the Special Tribunal for Yugoslavia both based in (The Hague) and actively participated in series of international justice mechanism meetings, visited the Apartheid Museum in South Africa to further enrich his reporting experience.