Three Americans Among 37 Sentenced to Death in DRC Coup Trial

Three U.S. residents are among the 37 defendants sentenced to execution by a military court on Friday for their involvement in a failed coup attempt in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in May.

The verdict, delivered on Friday and broadcast live on television, found the defendants guilty of criminal conspiracy, terrorism, and related charges stemming from the May 19 incident. The attempted coup saw armed individuals briefly occupy a presidential office in Kinshasa. US-based Congolese politician Christian Malanga, who led the operation, was killed by security forces during the attack. Among those convicted were Malanga's son Marcel, his friend Tyler Thompson, and business associate Benjamin Zalman-Polun, all American citizens.

The trial, which commenced in July, involved approximately 50 defendants of various nationalities, including US, British, Canadian, Belgian, and Congolese citizens. While 37 have received death sentences, others have been acquitted or given lesser punishments. The proceedings took place in a tent within the Ndolo military prison compound on Kinshasa's outskirts, with defendants clad in prison-issued blue and yellow attire. Marcel Malanga claimed during his defense that his father had coerced him into participating in the coup under threat of death. He stated it was his first visit to Congo, having been invited by his estranged father.

Tyler Thompson, a former high school football player from Utah, and Benjamin Zalman-Polun, who had business ties to Christian Malanga, were also implicated in the plot. US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller has confirmed that embassy staff had observed the proceedings and would continue to monitor the situation. He notes that the DRC's legal system allows for appeals of the court's decision. The families of the convicted Americans maintain their innocence, with Marcel's mother asserting that her son was merely following his father's orders, and Thompson's stepmother claiming he was on vacation in Congo, unaware of any coup plans.

Christian Malanga, a relatively obscure opposition figure, had declared himself president of a shadow government in exile. The DRC's history is marked by political instability and violence, with numerous coup attempts and conflicts. The reinstatement of the death penalty by the Congo government comes after a suspension of over two decades.