On Tuesday, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) repatriated three Americans accused of taking part in the failed coup d'etat against President Felix Zisekedi in May 2024.
Three Americans were among 37 defendants Judgment He died in September 2024 due to a military court conspiracy to coup. Their ruling was commute I lived in prison last week.
American citizens who were repatriated Tuesday morning include 21-year-old Marcel Malanga, son of Slain DRC opposition leader and the son of coup leader Christian Malanga. Marcel's friend and classmate Tyler Thompson Jr. Benjamin Reuben Zalman Porn, 36, former business associate of Christian Malanga.
Christian Malanga was a naturalized US citizen who lived in Utah for more than 20 years before hatching the coup plan. An epic scheme It included adopting commands to simultaneously assassinate Tshisekedi, Minister of Economy Vital Kamerhe, and other senior officials in the DRC capital of Kinshasa.
Despite living in the United States for decades, Malanga overthrew the “dictator” Tshisekedi and created his own political movement to set up himself as the president of the “Newzar.” He decides to claim himself as “President of Newzar.”
The DRC was known as the Republic of Zaire from 1971 to 1997, and became the Democratic Republic of Congo following the overthrow of dictator Mobutsuse Seseko two years before Malanga moved to the United States. Malanga followers were known for using the old Zaire flag.
Malanga adopted the muscle for coup attempts under various false premises. He expressed a strong interest in recruiting fellow college athletes for his son Marcel, offering up to $100,000 for Congo's “security jobs.” Thompson's family said Malanga invited him on a holiday to South Africa and Eswatini.
“He's a good kid, hardworking, respectful young man. We're very confused about how he ended up in this mess,” cried Thompson's stepmother, Miranda Thompson, as news of the coup reached her.
Marcel Malanga testified at the trial that it was not difficult for Christian Malanga to mislead them, as most of his father's recruits spoke the language used in the DRC.
Malanga launched an attack in Kinshasa on the morning of Sunday May 19th, 2024. It didn't work. Some of his commanders got lost in search of their targets. Six of them were killed by DRC security forces, including Christian Malanga himself. Putsists were able to film their own video declaring the end of the Tshisekedi regime, just before the government shot them dead.
The Biden administration is said to be particularly indifferent to the fate of Marcel Malanga and other Americans, and is said to be involved in the coup, and has not admitted that they were brought to trial and sentenced to death.
When the DRC began, their fate appears to have improved I'm working on a transaction Signing mineral rights to the Trump administration in exchange for military support for violent and increasingly successful Rebellion It enjoys support from nearby Rwanda.
“This decision is part of the dynamics that strengthen judicial diplomacy and international cooperation in issues of justice and human rights between the two countries,” said President Tshisekedi. I said When we announce our repatriation on Tuesday.
In the Congo Estimated $20 trillion in mineral wealth waiting to be tapped, including cobalt, which has important uses in military technology, mobile phones and electric vehicles. Unfortunately, the instability in the country's southern and eastern parts of the country makes these minerals extremely difficult to access, and China currently manages around 70% of the Congo's cobalt trade.
Miranda Thompson appears delightedly surprised at the repatriation of her son-in-law, and told the Associated Press on Tuesday that she didn't know all the details, but “we're very excited to have him again in American soil.”
Thompson and the other American families said they were being treated poorly in DRC military prisons.
Currently, there are no indications that Thompson, Malanga or Zalman Porn's prison sentences will be reduced or nullified once they arrive in the United States. The US government usually honors prison sentences passed on to repatriated prisoners by foreign courts. Otherwise, it would be much more difficult to arrange for repatriation.
Human rights lawyer Jared Jenser told the Associated Press that when three Americans agree to transfer prisoners, they could sue a reduced sentence on the grounds that they were obsessed.
State Department on Tuesday Confirmed The three Americans had been moved to the US, but they introduced the Department of Justice (DOJ) to questions about their continued legal status.
“They are in our custody,” said Tammy Bruce, a spokeswoman for the State Department.
“We also strongly condemn the armed attack on May 19th and support the DRC authorities to properly hold the responsible person accountable,” she said.
“At the same time, we are seeking consistent, compassionate, humane treatment and fair legal process on behalf of those American citizens,” she added.
The other three prisoners sentenced to death in the Malanga coup were foreigners, including Belgians, British and Canadians. Their current status has not been published as of Wednesday afternoon. The fourth suspect of dual citizenship, Belgium – Jeanjack, a Congolian researcher, Remittance Due to poor health, he went to Belgium in February.
