The lawyer representing three Americans sentenced to death in Congo for their alleged involvement in a coup attempt has filed an appeal, he informed The Associated Press on Tuesday.
Last Friday, a Congolese military court sentenced 37 people, including the three Americans, to death on charges of participating in a failed coup attempt. The defendants, mostly Congolese nationals but also including British, Belgian, and Canadian citizens, were given five days to appeal the verdict.
Richard Bondo, the attorney for the convicted Americans, argues that Congo’s reinstatement of the death penalty earlier this year was illegal under the Treaty of Rome, to which Congo is a signatory. Bondo stated that parliament should have decided on an alternative penalty, which has not occurred.
The coup attempt, which resulted in six deaths, targeted the presidential palace and an ally of President Felix Tshisekedi in May. It was allegedly led by opposition figure Christian Malanga, who was killed while resisting arrest after live-streaming the attack.
Among those convicted were Malanga’s 21-year-old son Marcel, a U.S. citizen, and two other Americans: Tyler Thompson Jr., 21, and Benjamin Reuben Zalman-Polun, 36. Marcel Malanga claimed in court that his father had forced him and his friend to participate in the attack under threat of death.
The case has drawn international attention, with family members of the convicted Americans maintaining their innocence and expressing concerns about the conditions of their detention.
Congo recently lifted a two-decade-old moratorium on the death penalty as authorities struggle to curb violence and militant attacks in the country. If carried out, the executions would likely be by firing squad.
AP
