Three U.S. citizens are among 37 defendants sentenced to death by a military court on Friday for their role in a May failed coup in Democratic Republic of Congo.
Armed men briefly occupied an office of the presidency in capital Kinshasa on May 19 before their leader, U.S.-based Congolese politician Christian Malanga, was killed by security forces.
His son, Marcel Malanga, was among the Americans on trial, along with Marcel’s friend, Tyler Thompson, who played high school football with him in Utah. Both are in their 20s. The third American, Benjamin Zalman-Polun, was a business associate of Christian Malanga.
37 including three Americans sentenced to death in Democratic Republic of Congo ‘coup’ trial. pic.twitter.com/oxqDKQ3Wnp
— KBC Channel1 News (@KBCChannel1) September 13, 2024
All three were found guilty of criminal conspiracy, terrorism and other charges, and sentenced to death in a ruling read on live TV. The trial began in July.
Malanga had previously told the court that his father had threatened to kill him unless he participated. He also told the court it was his first time visiting Congo at the invitation of his father, whom he had not seen in years.
The Americans are among some 50 people, including U.S., British, Canadian, Belgian and Congolese citizens, standing trial following the failed coup.
A total of 37 defendants were sentenced to death by the Congo court.
The verdict was read out under a tent in the yard of Ndolo military prison on the outskirts of Kinshasa. The defendants were seated in front of the judge, wearing blue and yellow
prison-issued tops.
In Washington, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said embassy staff had attended the proceedings in Congo and would continue to follow developments closely.
“We understand that the legal process in the DRC allows for defendants to appeal the court’s decision,” he told a briefing.
The 37 defendants include Belgian-Congolese citizen Jean-Jacques Wondo. Wondo’s family released video messages addressed to Congo President Félix Tshisekedi ahead of the trial
to ask for his release.
“I beg you, intervene, he is innocent,” Nathalie Kayembe Wondo, his wife, said in the message.
Previously, Marcel Malanga’s mother, Brittney Sawyer, has previously said her son is innocent, while Thompson’s stepmother, Miranda Thompson, said her stepson travelled to Congo on vacation to explore the world.
(REUTERS)
