US, British citizens among suspects on trial in Congo after thwarted coup
Benjamin Zalman Polun, Marcel Malanga and Taylor Thompson, American citizens suspected, along with a group of over fifty other people, to be involved in an attempted coup in Congo, wait for the beginning of their trial in Kinshasa, DRC on June 7, 2024. PHOTO | REUTERS
More than 50 defendants, including six with U.S., British, Canadian or Belgian citizenship, appeared in court in the Democratic Republic of Congo on Friday charged with taking part in a failed coup and other offences that carry the death penalty.
Armed men briefly occupied an office of the presidency in the capital Kinshasa on May 19 before their leader, U.S.-based Congolese politician Christian Malanga, was killed by security forces.