A lawyer filed an appeal on Tuesday as three Americans face death sentences in Congo due to charges regarding their participation in a failed coup attempt.
According to The Associated Press, a Congo military court announced death sentences for 37 people, including three Americans, last Friday. The death sentences came after the 37 individuals were convicted for taking part in a coup attempt.
The Associated Press reported that the defendants, who are primarily citizens of the Congo, were given five days to appeal Friday’s verdict. The outlet noted that the charges against the convicted individuals included criminal association, terrorism, and attempted coup.
According to The Associated Press, Congo reinstated the death penalty earlier amid rising violence and militant attacks throughout the country. The outlet said the three Americans facing death sentences will likely be executed by a firing squad if the verdict is not successfully overturned.
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Richard Bondo, the lawyer for the three convicted Americans, told The Associated Press that Congo’s reinstatement of the death penalty should have been illegal due to the country’s status as a member of the Treaty of Rome. As a result, Bondo said Congo’s parliament should have ruled on a different penalty for the individuals convicted in the failed coup attempt.
According to The Associated Press, the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo said six individuals were killed during the failed coup attempt, which was orchestrated in May by Christian Malanga, an opposition figure who targeted an ally of President Felix Tshisekedi and the presidential palace. Congo’s military said Malanga was killed while resisting arrest shortly after the opposition figure live-streamed the coup on social media.
The three Americans currently facing death sentences include Marcel Malanga, Christian Malanga’s 21-year-old son, 21-year-old Tyler Thompson Jr., and 36-year-old Benjamin Reuben Zalman-Polun.
According to The Associated Press, Marcel Malanga told the court that he and Thompson Jr. had been forced to participate in the coup attempt by his father. Malanga said, “Dad had threatened to kill us if we did not follow his orders.”
