Two Utahns sentenced to death by a court in Congo on coup charges

KINSHASA, Congo – A military court in Congo sentenced 37 people to death on Friday. including two men from Utahafter they Accusation of participating in a coup attempt.

Those convicted from Utah included Tyler Thompson Jr. of West Jordan and his former high school football teammate Marcel Malanga, as well as another American.

The defendants, most of them Congolese, but also a Briton, a Belgian and a Canadian, have five days to appeal against the verdict. They are accused of attempted coup, terrorism and criminal association, among other things. In the trial that began in June, 14 defendants were acquitted.

The court in the capital Kinshasa convicted the 37 defendants and imposed “the harshest punishment, the death penalty,” in a verdict announced by presiding judge Major Freddy Ehuma at an open-air military hearing broadcast live on television. The three Americans, sitting on plastic chairs in blue and yellow prison garb, appeared stoic as a translator explained the verdict to them.

Richard Bondo, the lawyer defending the six foreigners, said he doubted the death penalty could currently be imposed in Congo, even though it was reinstated earlier this year, and said his clients had not had adequate interpreters while investigating the case.

“We will appeal this decision,” Bondo said.

Six people were killed in the failed coup attempt in May, led by little-known opposition leader Christian Malanga, which targeted the presidential palace and a close ally of President Felix Tshisekedi. Malanga was shot dead as he resisted arrest, shortly after live-streaming the attack on his social media, the Congolese army said.

Malanga's 21-year-old son Marcel, a U.S. citizen, and two other Americans were convicted of the attack. His mother, Brittney Sawyer, said her son was innocent and was merely following his father, who considered himself president of a shadow government in exile.

“Father had threatened to kill us if we didn’t follow his orders,” said Marcel Malanga.

Other members of the ragtag militia reported similar threats from the elder Malanga, and some said they were tricked into believing they were working for a volunteer organization.

In the months since her son's arrest, Sawyer has declined several interview requests and focused her energy on raising funds to send Marcel money for food, hygiene products and a bed. He sleeps on the floor of his prison cell and suffers from liver disease, she said.

The other Americans were Thompson Jr., who flew with the younger Malanga from Utah to Africa for what his family believed was a vacation, and Benjamin Reuben Zalman-Polun, 36, who is said to have known Christian Malanga through a gold mining company.

The company was founded in Mozambique in 2022, according to an official journal of the Mozambican government and a report by the newsletter Africa Intelligence.

U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters in Washington on Friday that the federal government was aware of the ruling. The department has not declared the three Americans unlawfully detained, so it is unlikely that U.S. officials will try to negotiate their return.

“To our knowledge, defendants in the Democratic Republic of Congo's legal process have the opportunity to appeal the court's decision,” Miller said. “Embassy staff have been following the proceedings throughout the process. We will continue to monitor the proceedings and closely follow developments.”

Samy Ntumba Shambuyi/AP

Thompson's family claims he knew nothing of the elder Malanga's intentions, had no plans for political involvement and did not even intend to enter Congo. He and the Malangas were only supposed to travel to South Africa and Eswatini, his stepmother Miranda Thompson told the Associated Press.

The Thompsons' Utah attorney, Skye Lazaro, said the verdict was heartbroken for the family.

“We urge everyone who has supported Tyler and the family throughout this process to write to your congressmen and ask for their support in bringing him home,” Lazaro said.

The two US senators from Utah, Mitt Romney and Mike Lee, have not publicly called on the US government to work for the release of the Americans.

“My thoughts are with the families during this difficult time,” Lee told AP on Friday. “We will continue to work with the State Department for updates on this case.”

“This is an extremely difficult and frightening situation for the families involved,” said Romney spokesman Dilan Maxfield. “Our office is in constant contact with the State Department and will continue to do so.”

Last month, military prosecutor Lieutenant Colonel Innocent Radjabu called on judges to sentence all defendants to death except one who suffered from “mental health problems.”

Earlier this year, Congo reinstated the death penalty, lifting a moratorium that was more than two decades old, as authorities struggle to contain violence and militant attacks in the country.