An ex-member of Gambia’s military has been convicted at a federal jury trial in Denver of torturing five people accused of involvement in a failed coup against the West African country’s longtime dictator nearly 20 years ago.

An ex-military officer in Gambia and others have testified this week against a man on trial in the United States accused of conspiring to torture people accused of opposing the West African nation's longtime dictator.

A lawyer for a man accused of torturing people suspected in a planned coup against Gambia’s longtime president says the defendant was a mere private in the West African country’s military who risked torture and death himself if he disobeyed superiors.