By Mustapha Jallow
The trial of Michael Correa, a former member of then dictator Jammeh’s death squad, who was supposed to stand on trial on torture charges in the United States on September, 16th 2024, has been rescheduled to allow Correa’s attorneys travel to the Gambia and take additional testimony from two witnesses, Center and Justice for Accountability (CJA) said in a short statement on Wednesday night.
This follows the filing of two motions by Correa last week. The first one was rejected, while the second motion was accepted.
The motions explained that he (Correa) intended to present testimony from Momodou Hydara and Alieu Jeng at the trial, which he claims would support his defense that he was coerced to and under duress when he allegedly assaulted the individuals listed in the indictment.
But according to him {Correa}, Hydara and Jeng refused to travel to the United States unless the United States government provided them with immunity from prosecution, which the United States declined to offer that immunity.
CJA says Correa’s first motion asked the judge to dismiss the case against him, because the government was not facilitating the attendance of his witnesses. Yesterday, {on September 11th} the court, therefore denied Correa’s motion to dismiss the claims against him.
The accused asked the court to delay the trial while his attorneys traveled to the Gambia to take depositions from Hydara and Jeng.
“Depositions are a form of video recorded testimony that can be presented in exceptional circumstances where a witness cannot travel to court. This afternoon {September 11th} the judge granted Correa’s motion,” said the statement.
“While these delays are difficult for victims who have waited for decades for some measure of justice, it is important that the judge gives Correa an opportunity to present his defense,” said CJA in a short statement.
Meanwhile, the ex-jungler is charged with six counts of torture and one count of conspiracy to commit torture. He is a former member of the Junglers, a notorious death squad in The Gambia that operated under former Gambian President Yahya Jammeh.
The indictment alleges that following an attempted coup against Jammeh’s regime in 2006, Correa and other Junglers tortured suspected participants in the coup by beating them, suffocating them with plastic bags, and subjecting them to electric shocks.
The U.S. government filed the charges under the extraterritorial Torture Act, a criminal law which allows it to prosecute individuals found within the United States for acts of torture committed abroad.
This case has drawn significant attention from human rights advocates and legal experts, as it is the first trial of a non-U.S. citizen since the Torture Act was passed in 1994, and only the third trial under the Act.
But CJA says a new date will be scheduled for the trial.
