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Prosecutors on Tuesday called for 50 people, including three Americans, to face the death penalty for what the Congolese army says was a coup attempt earlier this year.
Military prosecutor Lieutenant Colonel Innocent Radjabu urged the judges to sentence to death all those on trial, except for one defendant who suffers from “psychological problems.”
The defendants, whose trial opened in June, face a number of charges, many punishable by death, including terrorism, murder and criminal association.
Six people were killed during the botched coup attempt led by the little-known opposition figure Christian Malanga in May that targeted the presidential palace and a close ally of President Felix Tshisekedi. Malanga was fatally shot for resisting arrest soon after live-streaming the attack on his social media, the Congolese army said.
Counsellors and accused of a failed coup attempt sit at the first hearing of the trial at the Ndolo Prison in Kinshasa on June 7, 2024.
Arsene Mpiana/AFP/Getty Images
Malanga’s 21-year-old son Marcel Malanga, who is a US citizen, and two other Americans are on trial for their alleged role in the attack. His mother, Brittney Sawyer, has said her son is innocent and simply followed his father, who considered himself president of a shadow government in exile.
Military prosecutor Lieutenant Colonel Innocent Radjabu urged the judges to sentence to death all those on trial, except for one defendant who suffers from “psychological problems.”
The defendants, whose trial opened in June, face a number of charges, many punishable by death, including terrorism, murder and criminal association.
Six people were killed during the botched coup attempt led by the little-known opposition figure Christian Malanga in May that targeted the presidential palace and a close ally of President Felix Tshisekedi. Malanga was fatally shot for resisting arrest soon after live-streaming the attack on his social media, the Congolese army said.
Counsellors and accused of a failed coup attempt sit at the first hearing of the trial at the Ndolo Prison in Kinshasa on June 7, 2024.
Arsene Mpiana/AFP/Getty Images
Malanga’s 21-year-old son Marcel Malanga, who is a US citizen, and two other Americans are on trial for their alleged role in the attack. His mother, Brittney Sawyer, has said her son is innocent and simply followed his father, who considered himself president of a shadow government in exile.
