KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — A military court in Congo handed down death sentences Friday to 37 people, including three Americans, after convicting them on charges of participating in a coup attempt.
Benjamin Reuben Zalman-Polun, left, Marcel Malanga and Tyler Thompson, all American citizens, attend a court verdict in Congo, Kinshasa, Friday Sept. 13, 2024, on charges of taking part in a coup attempt in May 2024.
Richard Bondo, the lawyer who defended the six foreigners, disputed whether the death penalty could currently be imposed in Congo, despite itsled by the little-known opposition figure Christian Malanga in May that targeted the presidential palace and a close ally of President. Malanga was fatally shot while resisting arrest soon after live-streaming the attack on his social media, the Congolese army said.
U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters in Washington on Friday that the federal government was aware of the verdict. The department has not declared the three Americans wrongfully detained, making it unlikely that U.S. officials would try to negotiate their return. Thompson’s family maintains he had no knowledge of the elder Malanga’s intentions, no plans for political activism and didn’t even plan to enter Congo. He and the Malangas were meant to travel only to South Africa and Eswatini, his stepmother, Miranda Thompson, told The Associated Press.“We urge all who have supported Tyler and the family throughout this process to write to your congressmen and request their assistance in bringing him home," Lazaro said.
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