Gambiaj.com – (WASHINGTON, United States) – The United States Department of Justice has filed a denaturalization case against Baboucarr Mboob, a Gambian national accused of participating in the extrajudicial execution of six soldiers during the early days of former President Yahya Jammeh’s military rule.
According to the U.S. Justice Department, Mboob, 58, allegedly took part in the November 11, 1994, killings while serving as a military police officer in the Gambian army, just months after Jammeh seized power in a coup d’état.
U.S. authorities said Mboob and fifteen other soldiers executed six officers accused of plotting a counter-coup against Jammeh, acting on the orders of a commanding officer and without any form of trial.
The Department of Justice said Mboob later entered the United States in 2002 and became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2011.
However, prosecutors allege he concealed his involvement in the killings and misrepresented his military background throughout his immigration and naturalization process.
The case against Mboob is part of a broader set of denaturalization actions announced by the Justice Department against 12 individuals accused of serious offenses ranging from war crimes and terrorism-related activities to sexual abuse.
Under U.S. immigration law, citizenship can be revoked if it was obtained illegally or through concealment of material facts or willful misrepresentation.
The Justice Department’s filing heavily references testimony Mboob gave before Truth, Reconciliation, and Reparations Commission (TRRC) hearings on April 9, 2019, during which he admitted participating in the executions of the six officers.
The November 11, 1994 killings remain among the most notorious early atrocities linked to Jammeh’s regime.
The executions targeted soldiers suspected of disloyalty shortly after the coup that brought Jammeh to power and marked the beginning of a period characterized by widespread allegations of torture, enforced disappearances, unlawful killings, and repression.
In announcing the case, Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche said individuals implicated in heinous crimes or fraud “should never have been naturalized as United States citizens.”
“Those who intentionally concealed their criminal histories or misrepresented themselves during the naturalization process will face the fullest extent of the law,” Blanche said.
Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate also said the cases demonstrated that the accused individuals “should have never received the privilege of U.S. citizenship.”
The move against Mboob comes as The Gambia intensifies efforts to pursue accountability for crimes committed during Jammeh’s 22-year rule, following recommendations made by the TRRC.
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