Gambian ex-soldier jailed for over 67 years in US for Jammeh-era torture

Gambian man who was part of an armed unit run by former president Yahya Jammeh and was convicted of torture by a US jury in April has been sentenced to more than 67 years in prison, the US Justice Department said on Friday.

A Colorado jury convicted the Gambian national, Michael Sang Correa, for his participation in the torture of numerous victims in Gambia in 2006, including beating and flesh burning, because of the victims' purported involvement in a coup plot against the then-president, the Justice Department said.

Correa, 46, was sentenced to 810 months in prison by Senior Judge Christine Arguello for the District of Colorado after conviction on one count of conspiracy to commit torture and five counts of torture, the department said in a statement.

The case marked the first criminal prosecution over involvement in the feared armed group known as "the Junglers", which operated in Gambia's police state during Jammeh's rule.

The former president seized power in 1994 and foiled several attempts to overthrow him before he lost a 2016 election.