KINSHASA: A military court in the Democratic Republic of Congo on Friday handed over death sentences to 37 defendants including three Americans to death in a trial over an “attempted coup” in May.
The defendants in the trial, which began in June, included a Briton, a Belgian, a Canadian, and several Congolese citizens. They face charges of terrorism, murder, and criminal association and have the right to appeal the verdict. Fourteen people were acquitted in the case.
The trial follows a failed coup attempt in May led by the relatively unknown opposition figure Christian Malanga, who targeted the presidential palace and a close ally of President Felix Tshisekedi. Malanga was killed by security forces while resisting arrest shortly after he live-streamed the attack on social media.
Christian Malanga’s 21-year-old son, Marcel Malanga, an American citizen, and two other Americans were convicted in connection with the attack. Marcel Malanga’s mother, Brittney Sawyer, maintains his innocence, claiming he was merely following his father, who declared himself president of a shadow government in exile.
The other Americans involved are Tyler Thompson Jr., who traveled from Utah with Marcel Malanga under the pretense of a vacation, and Benjamin Reuben Zalman-Polun, 36, who reportedly knew Christian Malanga through a gold mining company established in Mozambique in 2022.
Thompson’s family asserts he was unaware of the elder Malanga’s plans, had no intention of engaging in political activities, and only intended to visit South Africa and Eswatini.
The verdict and sentencing were broadcast live from the open-air military court. Last month, military prosecutor Lt. Col. Innocent Radjabu urged the judges to impose the death penalty on all defendants except one with “psychological problems.” This comes after Congo reinstated the death penalty earlier this year, ending a more than two-decade moratorium, as the government seeks to address rising violence and militant activities in the country.
