3 Americans jailed for failed coup attempt in Democratic Republic of Congo evacuated to US

KIGALI, Rwanda

Three Americans whose death sentences were commuted to life imprisonment by Democratic Republic of Congo President Felix Tshisekedi last week were evacuated to the US on Tuesday to serve their sentences, an official said.

“Following the presidential pardon granted to the three American prisoners who benefited from the commutation of their sentences to life imprisonment, in collaboration with the US embassy in Kinshasa, Marcel (Malanga), Benjamin (Reuben Zalman-Polun) and Tyler (Thompson Jr.) were evacuated to the United States to serve their sentences,” Congolese presidential spokesperson Tina Salama said on X.

The three were initially sentenced to death last September for their role in a failed coup in the country last year.

They were among 37 coup plotters who were convicted and sentenced to death by a military court in Kinshasa on charges of criminal association and terrorism.