Overview

• Michael Sang Correa is the first non-U.S. citizen to be tried under the U.S. Torture Act for crimes committed abroad, marking a legal milestone in international accountability.
• Prosecutors allege Correa, as part of Gambia's 'Junglers' military unit, tortured six detainees in 2006 following a failed coup attempt against then-dictator Yahya Jammeh.
• The alleged torture methods include beatings, electrocution, suffocation with plastic bags, and the use of molten plastic and acid on victims' bodies.
• Correa entered the U.S. in 2016, overstayed his visa, and was arrested in 2019 in Denver, where he had been living and working as a day laborer.
• The trial, closely monitored by human rights organizations and Gambian activists, is seen as a significant step toward holding perpetrators of systemic torture accountable.