Gambian Torture Victims Testify Against Ex-Military Member in Denver Trial
Pharing Sanyang testified in Denver against Michael Sang Correa, a former military officer accused of torturing him and others during Gambia’s former regime. Correa faces charges under a law allowing U.S. prosecution for foreign torture. Sanyang, detailing severe abuse, aims to hold his abuser accountable. Other victims have also shared their harrowing experiences in court, with the trial continuing into next week.
In a shocking testimony, Pharing Sanyang recounted his harrowing experiences as a torture victim in Gambia, taking the stand in a Denver courtroom against Michael Sang Correa, a former soldier. Sanyang, who endured extreme violence including being beaten with pipes and pistol-whipped, described how painful particles from a sandy courtyard entered his eyes during a brutal attack in 2006. These experiences not only inflicted severe physical injuries but also required multiple surgeries.
Correa faces serious charges for his involvement in Sanyang’s torture, alongside others. He has been indicted under a unique statute that enables U.S. courts to prosecute individuals for human rights violations occurring abroad. Allegations include the torture of Sanyang and four other alleged coup plotters while serving in the Junglers, a notorious military unit that operated under former Gambian president Yahya Jammeh.
Sanyang testified that he felt coerced into signing a false confession after severe torture, stating he wiped blood on the document as proof of his mistreatment. During a televised confession, he endured electric shocks and physical violence, yet the only evidence captured was audio to disguise the brutality he faced. “I had to save my body,” he explained, emphasizing that he did not participate in the coup against Jammeh, who had previously seized power.
After spending nearly ten years imprisoned on treason charges, Sanyang fled to Senegal upon his release. Meanwhile, Correa, having immigrated to the U.S. to be a bodyguard for Jammeh, subsequently overstayed his visa and was living in Denver until apprehended. The trial has gathered a number of torture survivors from various locations to provide their testimonies about shared experiences of brutality during Jammeh’s reign, with graphic photographs shown to jurors as evidence of scars and injuries.
Correa’s defense team has acknowledged his role in the torture yet argues that he was merely a low-ranking soldier under duress from Jammeh, insinuating that he risked his own life by not following orders. Another testifying victim, Demba Dem, shared horrifying accounts of his own mistreatment, illustrating the severity of torture through detailed anecdotes about being beaten, suffocated, and hung upside down.
Dem, a former teacher turned politician, noted the long-lasting trauma he endured, which affected his mental health, diagnosed as post-traumatic stress disorder following his asylum in the Netherlands. Despite his reluctance to delve into emotional suffering while testifying, he expressed a sense of fulfillment in being able to confront his abuser in court, stating, “I have to do it but I feel satisfied.”
The trial is expected to continue next week. This case comes on the heels of a truth commission in Gambia, which in 2021 recommended prosecution for human rights abuses during Jammeh’s era. Other nations have also initiated legal action against individuals associated with the former regime, including a former interior minister sentenced to 20 years in Switzerland and a Gambian Jungler convicted in Germany for murder and crimes against humanity.
This trial highlights the plight of Gambian torture victims and the ongoing pursuit of justice for atrocities committed during Yahya Jammeh’s dictatorship. As survivors like Sanyang and Dem bravely recount their experiences, the fostering of accountability rings louder. The case files under a rarely invoked U.S. law proves crucial as it seeks to offer a semblance of justice on an international scale for heinous acts of torture and human rights abuses.
Original Source: www.denverpost.com
