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DR Congo sentences 37 coup plotters to death

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      DR Congo sentences 37 coup plotters to death

      2024-09-15 09:26 Last Updated At:09-16 00:07

      Thirty-seven alleged coup plotters, including three Americans, were convicted and sentenced to death on Friday by a military court in Kinshasa, following the failed coup attempt on May 19 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

      A total of 51 people were tried by the military court in Kinshasa, the DRC capital, with the hearings broadcast on national television. The three Americans sentenced to death were convicted for the offenses of criminal association, attack and terrorism, including Marcel Malanga, son of Christian Malanga, the alleged leader of the attempted coup.

      Marcel Malanga, who was born in Utah of the United States, and two other Americans, stood trial Friday, along with other defendants.

      "The court imposes the death penalty for the charges of criminal association and terrorism, a 20-year prison sentence for the illegal possession of arms. In accordance with Article Seven of the Criminal Military Law, the unique sentence retained, the highest, is the death penalty," said Major Freddy Ehume, Presiding Judge of the Military Court.

      One of the lawyers of the U.S. citizens said that he will appeal against the ruling.

      "We have five days to appeal the judge's decision and we will do it on Tuesday before the military court of Kinshasa, Gombe which is a higher jurisdiction," said Richard Bondo, the lawyer.

      According to some Congolese officials, the U.S. government has asked to transfer its citizens to America to serve their sentences in U.S. prisons over concerns about the poor conditions in the DRC, but the Congolese authorities have not yet taken a decision on that request.

      Fourteen of the defendants were acquitted at the trial.

      According to the DRC army, an "attempted coup" led by little-known opponent Christian Malanga was "nipped in the bud" early May 19. Six people, including Christian Malanga himself, were killed.

      The putschists attacked the residence of Vital Kamerhe, then deputy prime minister, before intruding the Place of the Nation, where the offices of DRC President Felix Tshisekedi are located.

      The attackers, dressed in military uniforms and displaying the Zaire flag, claimed in video clips circulating on social media that they wanted to "change things in the management of the Republic." Zaire, officially the Republic of Zaire, was the name of the DRC from 1971 to 1997.

      Christian Malanga formed the United Congolese Party in 2010 and advocated for the return of Zaire. In 2017, He created a government in exile in Brussels, Belgium, giving birth to the so-called "New Zaire".

      DR Congo sentences 37 coup plotters to death

      DR Congo sentences 37 coup plotters to death

      DR Congo sentences 37 coup plotters to death

      DR Congo sentences 37 coup plotters to death

      DR Congo sentences 37 coup plotters to death

      DR Congo sentences 37 coup plotters to death

      Russia said on Wednesday that its forces had taken control of one more settlement in Ukraine's Kharkiv region, while Ukraine, on the same day, reported striking Russian targets, according to their latest updates on the conflict.

      The Russian Ministry of Defense said that over the past 24 hours, its forces had seized the village of Zapadne on the western bank of the Oskil River, which used to form the front line between the Ukrainian and Russian armies.

      The ministry also said the Russian forces had successfully repelled Ukrainian counterattacks and launched offensives in the directions of Kharkiv, Avdiivka, Donetsk, Zaporozhye and Kherson.

      The air defense forces shot down 114 Ukrainian drones, and the Russian forces had continued to strike Ukrainian armed forces in the Kursk region, it said.

      On the same day, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces reported that its forces had engaged in 67 battles on the frontline.

      The Ukrainian air force, missile forces and artillery units had struck targets such as Russian personnel, concentration areas of weapons and military equipment, command posts, depots and artillery systems, with the Ukrainian army continuing its operations in Russia's Kursk region, the Ukrainian side said.

      Russia seizes one more settlement in Ukraine's Kharkiv region, Ukraine strikes Russian targets

      Russia seizes one more settlement in Ukraine's Kharkiv region, Ukraine strikes Russian targets

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