J. Bishop Grewell, Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Colorado, Delivers Remarks Following the Conviction of Michael Sang Correa

Michael Sang Correa made a huge mistake in coming to Colorado.

He thought that he could escape accountability for the vile acts of torture that he committed in The Gambia in 2006, working as a member of a military organization known as the Junglers to force confessions of treason from enemies of then-President Jammeh. He thought that his crimes against his fellow Gambians would be forgotten.

But Colorado is not a safe haven for torturers. It is not a refuge for sadists. And it is not a home for those who flee justice.

Justice will not forget his acts. Nor will Colorado harbor anyone who attacks another’s dignity through such barbarism.

I want to thank the courageous victims and witnesses from The Gambia who traveled halfway around the world to tell their story and the story of other Gambians who suffered at the hands of Mr. Correa and the Junglers. This verdict could not be achieved without their strength of will or their bravery.

I want to thank the jury of everyday Coloradans who listened to the evidence—evidence that was at times painful to hear—and who rendered their verdict based on that evidence and the governing law presented to them. They have done a great service to the state of Colorado by offering their time and attention to such an important matter.

I want to thank the trial team of Melissa Hindman and Laura Cramer-Babcyz from our own U.S. Attorney’s Office here in Colorado and Christina Giffin and Marie Zisa of DOJ’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions section for their tireless work on this case.

And, finally, I want to thank our agency partners who helped with the investigation of this case—in particular the office of Homeland Security Investigations. This case—a first of its kind—was years in the making and HSI’s dedication to the investigation of Mr. Correa is worthy of praise.

Today, those years of hard work led to twelve jurors finding Michael Correa guilty of conspiring to engage in torture and torturing five of his fellow Gambians. At the end of the day, that guilty verdict is a rebuke of the rule of the Junglers and a resounding affirmation of the rule of law for the Gambian people.