2024-09-15 18:03:25
Three American citizens are among the 37 defendants sentenced to death by a military court for their role in the failed coup in the Democratic Republic of Congo in May, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
On May 19, gunmen briefly occupied the presidential office in the capital Kinshasa before their leader, US-based Congolese politician Christian Malanga, was killed by security forces.
His son Marcel Malanga is among the Americans sued, along with Marcel’s friend Tyler Thompson, who played football with him in high school in the US state of Utah. They are both 20 years old.
The third American, Benjamin Zalman-Polun, was Christian Malanga’s business partner.
All three were found guilty of criminal conspiracy, terrorism and other charges and sentenced to death in a verdict read live on television.
Malanga had previously told the court that his father had threatened to kill him if he did not participate. He also told the court that he was visiting DR Congo for the first time at the invitation of his father, whom he had not seen for years.
The Americans are among a total of about 50 people, including citizens of the United States, Britain, Canada, Belgium and the Congo, who have gone on trial since the failed coup. A total of 37 defendants have been sentenced to death so far.
The trial began in July. In Washington, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said embassy officials attended the trial and would continue to closely monitor developments.