KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — A military court in Congo, one of Africa‘s largest countries, has convicted three Americans and dozens of others of taking part in a coup attempt and imposed “the harshest penalty, that of death.”
The court convicted the 37 defendants, including the three Americans and imposed the death penalty in a verdict delivered by presiding judge Maj. Freddy Ehuma at an open-air military court proceeding.
The defendants, a majority of them Congolese but also including a Briton, a Belgian and a Canadian, were charged with terrorism, murder, criminal association and illegal possession of weapons, among other charges.
The lawyer who defended the six foreigners said they would appeal the verdicts.
The U.S. State Department strongly discourages travel to Congo, warning of violent crime and civil unrest. Here’s how the three Americans ended up in the middle of the coup attempt.
What happened during the coup attempt in…
