Kinshasa, Congo
AP
—
An army court docket in Congo passed down demise sentences Friday to 37 folks, together with 3 American citizens, after convicting them on fees of participating in a coup try.
The defendants, who additionally integrated a Briton, Belgian, Canadian and several other Congolese, can enchantment the decision on fees that integrated terrorism, homicide and prison affiliation. Fourteen folks have been acquitted within the trial, which opened in June.
Six folks have been killed throughout the botched coup try led through the little-known opposition determine Christian Malanga in Would possibly that centered the presidential palace and a detailed best friend of President Felix Tshisekedi. Malanga was once fatally shot whilst resisting arrest quickly after live-streaming the assault on his social media, the Congolese military mentioned.
Malanga’s 21-year-old son Marcel Malanga, who’s a US citizen, and two different American citizens have been convicted within the the assault. His mom, Brittney Sawyer, has mentioned her son is blameless and was once merely following his father, who thought to be himself president of a shadow executive in exile.
The opposite American citizens have been Tyler Thompson Jr., who flew to Africa from Utah with the more youthful Malanga for what his circle of relatives believed was once a holiday, and Benjamin Reuben Zalman-Polun, 36, who’s reported to have recognized Christian Malanga via a gold mining corporate.
The corporate was once arrange in Mozambique in 2022, in line with an reputable magazine printed through Mozambique’s executive, and a document through the Africa Intelligence e-newsletter.
Thompson’s circle of relatives maintains he had no wisdom of the elder Malanga’s intentions, no plans for political activism and didn’t even plan to go into Congo. He and the Malangas have been intended to trip most effective to South Africa and Eswatini, Thompson’s stepmother mentioned.
The studying out of the decision and sentencing ahead of the open-air army court docket have been broadcast survive tv.
Final month, the army prosecutor, Lt. Col. Blameless Radjabu. known as at the judges to condemn to demise all the defendants, except for for one that suffers from “mental issues.”
Previous this yr, Congo reinstated the demise penalty, lifting a greater than two-decade-old moratorium, as government combat to curb violence and militant assaults within the nation.
