Attempted coup in the Democratic Republic of Congo: 37 people sentenced to death

37 people – including three Americans, a Briton, a Belgian and a Canadian – were sentenced to death for attempting to overthrow the president of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The men were accused of leading an attack on the presidential palace and the home of an ally of President Félix Tshisekedi in May.

Christian Malanga, a US citizen of Congolese origin and suspected leader of the plot, was killed in the attack along with five others.

A total of 51 people were tried before a military court and the hearings were broadcast on national television and radio.

Malanga's son Marcel, one of the US citizens sentenced to death, had previously told the court that his father had threatened to kill him if he did not cooperate.

His friend Tyler Thompson was also sentenced to death. The two, both in their twenties, had played football together in Utah.

His stepmother Miranda Thompson in June told the BBC that the family had “no idea” how he ended up in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

“We were completely shocked by what was happening and the unknown. Everything we learned came from Google,” she said.

The third American, Benjamin Zalman-Polun, had business interests with Christian Malanga.

Jean-Jacques Wondo, who holds both Congolese and Belgian citizenship, was also sentenced to death.

Human Rights Watch previously described him as a prominent researcher on regional politics and security and said the evidence linking him to the coup attempt was thin.

The AFP news agency reported that the British and Canadian nationals were of Congolese origin.

Fourteen people were acquitted and released.

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, no death sentences have been carried out for around two decades. Those convicted who receive the death penalty instead serve a life sentence.

The government lifted the moratorium in March this year, citing the need to remove “traitors” from the country's dysfunctional army. However, no death sentences have been carried out since then.

The coup attempt began in the early hours of May 19 in the capital Kinshasa. Armed men first attacked the house of Parliament Speaker Vital Kamerhe in Kinshasa and then went to the president's official residence.

According to witnesses, a group of about 20 attackers in army uniforms attacked the palace, which led to an exchange of fire.

An army spokesman later announced on national television that security forces had foiled an “attempted coup.”

According to local media reports, the attackers were members of the New Zaire Movement with links to Malanga, an exiled politician from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Malanga was shot dead in the attack after resisting arrest, said army spokesman Brigadier General Sylavin Ekenge.

President Tshisekedi was re-elected for a second term in controversial elections in December last year, receiving around 78 percent of the votes cast.

The Democratic Republic of Congo is a country with enormous natural resources and a huge population, but life is difficult for many people as conflict, corruption and poor governance persist.

Much of the country's natural resources lie in the east, where violence continues to rage despite Tshisekedi's attempts to control the situation by declaring a state of siege, ceasefire agreements and deploying troops from neighboring countries.

Additional reporting by Emery Makumeno in Kinshasa & Natasha Booty