A military court in Congo has found three Americans guilty of participating in a coup attempt, along with dozens of others, imposing the sentence of death as the harshest penalty. The court convicted 37 defendants, including the three Americans, during a proceeding held at an open-air military court where the presiding judge, Maj. Freddy Ehuma, delivered the verdict. The individuals faced charges of terrorism, murder, criminal association, and illegal possession of weapons, among others.
The defendants, mostly Congolese but also including a Briton, a Belgian, and a Canadian, were convicted and handed the death penalty. The foreign defendants are planning to appeal the verdicts according to their lawyer.
The coup attempt occurred in Congo’s capital, Kinshasa, where a group led by a relatively unknown opposition figure, Christian Malanga, including three Americans, sought to overthrow President Felix Tshisekedi. The attempt started at the residence of a close ally of Tshisekedi, Vital Kamerhe, resulting in some attackers being killed by guards.
Malanga, who was livestreaming video from the presidential palace during the coup attempt, was later killed while resisting arrest. Following the incident, numerous individuals, including Malanga’s son and two other Americans, were arrested and placed in a high-security military prison in Kinshasa.
The three imprisoned Americans are Marcel Malanga, Tyler Thompson Jr., and Benjamin Reuben Zalman-Polun. Marcel Malanga, who is a U.S. citizen, claimed in court that his father threatened to harm him and Thompson if they did not partake in the attack.
All of the convicted individuals, including the Americans, have five days to appeal the verdict. The Americans’ lawyer intends to lodge an appeal. Since Congo reintroduced the death penalty earlier this year after a two-decade pause, those convicted in the coup attempt are likely to face execution by firing squad. The U.S. State Department has not labeled the Americans as wrongfully detained, reducing the likelihood of U.S. intervention to secure their return.
