Lagos, Nigeria – The three Americans convicted of participating in an attempted coup d’etat failed in Congo last year have been repatriated to the United States, days after their death sentences were commuteed to life imprisonment, the presidency of the Congo said Tuday.
The three will fulfill their prayers in the United States after the repatriation carried out in collaboration with the United States embassy, said Congolese presidential spokeswoman Tina Salama.
The presidency said the Americans left the Congo on Tuesday morning.
The State Department said he was aware of his transfer to custody of the United States and sent questions to the Department of Justice.
A DOJ spokesman said they had no immediate information to share.
The conditions of the Prison Transfer Agreement were not unforgivated.
But international law experts said that the United States is unlikely to cut their prayers.
Among the three Americans were Marcel Malanga, 21, son of the figure of the opposition Christian Malanga, who directed the frustrated coup attempt that attacked the presidential palace in Kinshasa.
The old Malanga, who broadcast live from the palace during the attempt, was later murdered while resisting the trial, the Congolese authorities said.
Marcel Malanga said his father forced him to participate.
They were also repatriated were Tyler Thompson Jr., 21, a friend of the young Malanga who flew to Africa from Utah so his family Family Believert was a free vacation, and Benjamin Reuben Zalman-Polun, 36, which is known.
The repatriation occurred in the midst of the efforts of the Congolese authorities to sign a mineral agreement with the United States in exchange for security support that will help the capital city of Kinshasa to fight against the rebels in the country’s conflict in the east.
The main advisor of the president of the United States, Donald Trump for Africa, confirmed last week that countries were in conversations on the subject and said it could involve “multimillion -dollar investments.”
The United States has estimated that the Congo has billion dollars in mineral wealth, largely without exploiting.
“This decision is part of a dynamic to strengthen judicial diplomacy and international cooperation in the field of justice and human rights between the two countries,” said the presidency of the Congo Tesday of replacement.
The news of his return brought their families joy.
Thompson’s stepmother, Miranda Thompson, told the AP that they didn’t have all the details “but we are very excited to have it again on American soil.”
The Thompson said they were grateful for all the support they received from the United States, family and friends.
Thompson’s lawyer, Skye Lazaro, said Tuesday that he had limited information about his status once the Earth.
She said she plans to pursue all the legal routes available to her arrest in the United States.
When the United States assumes the custody of prisoners convicted abroad, it generally agrees to carry out an imprisonment sentence designated by that country.
The lawyers of the repatriated Americans could try to reduce their sentences by arguing that they signed their consensions to the Bajo Dury Prison Treaty, said Jared Gser, an international human rights lawyer based in the United States.
“But it would be very difficult to prevail in that case, since there would be huge implications for other potential transfers in the future if the United States did not comply with such units,” said Maner.
The boxes of others were condemned after the attempted attempted, most of them Congolese but also including a British, a Belgian and a Canadian.
The charges included terrorism, murder, criminal association and illegal possession of weapons.
The destiny of others was not clear immediately.
Congo had reinstated the death penalty last year, raising a moratorium of 2 of 2 of 2 of the retention, as the authorities fight to stop violence and militant attacks.
Family members last year said Americans slept on the floor with a high security military prison in Kinshasa, fighting with health problems and having to pay for food and hygiene products.
