On September 13, a military court in Congo condemned three US nationals to death for their alleged involvement in a failed coup against Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi's administration.
Benjamin Reuben Zalman-Polun, 36, Marcel Malanga, 21, and Tyler Thompson, 21, were among 37 people sentenced to die on Friday after being found guilty of conspiracy, terrorism, and an attempted coup.
On Friday, the decision was delivered in an open-air court session in the yard of a military prison on the outskirts of Kinshasa, Congo's capital, and shown live on television.
The majority of the defendants were Congolese, but there were also three Americans, a Briton, a Belgian, and a Canadian. The offenders, who sat before the judge in blue and yellow prison-issued shirts, were given five days to appeal their sentencing.
Richard Bondo, the lawyer who represented the six foreigners, said that the inquiry was defective because his clients were not provided sufficient translators. He promised to challenge the judgment.
The coup attempt, organized by Christian Malanga, a Congolese politician living in the United States, occurred on May 19, 2023, when armed men temporarily stormed the presidential office. The Congolese troops responded promptly, and Malanga was slain while resisting capture. Five additional people perished in the unsuccessful takeover attempt.
Marcel Malanga, Malanga's son, is among the three Americans convicted to death. He earlier told the court that his father had threatened to murder him unless he participated in the coup attempt. His mother, Brittany Sawyer, claims that her son was innocent and was merely following his father, who believed himself the president of a shadow Congolese government in exile.
Thompson, Marcel's buddy and high school football teammate in Utah, had gone to Congo on vacation to tour the globe, according to his family, who claim he was unaware of the older Malanga's coup intentions. The Thompsons' lawyer in Utah, Skye Lazaro, told The Associated Press that the family is devastated by the ruling.
Zalman-Polun, the third American to get the death penalty, was Christian Malanga's business colleague.
At a news briefing in Washington on September 13, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller stated that embassy workers had attended the hearings and will continue to closely monitor the issue.
“We understand that the legal process in the DRC allows for defendants to appeal the court’s decision,” he said.
When asked if he feels the processes involving the three Americans have been fair, Miller said he does not want to pronounce judgment just yet, but that the department would closely monitor events as the appeals process unfolds.
Utah Republican Senators Mitt Romney and Mike Lee expressed compassion for the three Americans' families, but they have not publicly urged the US administration to seek for their release.
“My thoughts are with the families during this difficult time,” Lee said on Friday. “We will continue to work with the State Department to receive updates on this case.”
Romney spokesperson Dilan Maxfield called it “an extremely difficult and frightening situation for the families involved,” adding that Romney’s office has “consistently engaged with the State Department and will continue to do so.”
Some 50 persons were prosecuted in connection with the failed coup, with approximately two dozen acquitted and the remaining 37 put to death.
Congo reintroduced the death sentence early this year, after a more than two-decade suspension. According to the country's penal code, the president selects the mode of execution. In the past, insurgents were killed by firing squad.
