A total of 37 defendants were sentenced to death.
The verdict was read out under a tent in the yard of Ndolo military prison on the outskirts of Kinshasa. The defendants were seated in front of the judge, wearing blue and yellow prison-issued tops.
The trial began in July.
In Washington, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said embassy staff had attended the proceedings and would continue to follow developments closely.
"We understand the legal process in the DRC allows for defendants to appeal the court's decision," he told a briefing.
The 37 defendants include Belgian-Congolese citizen Jean-Jacques Wondo. Wondo's family released video messages addressed to DRC President Félix Tshisekedi ahead of the trial to ask for his release.
"I beg you, intervene. He is innocent," his wife Nathalie Kayembe Wondo said in the message.
Relatives of Marcel Malanga and Thompson did not respond to requests for comment.
Marcel Malanga's mother, Brittney Sawyer, has previously said her son is innocent.
Thompson's stepmother, Miranda Thompson, has previously said her stepson travelled to DRC on vacation to explore the world.
Thompson is feeling lonely and isolated in prison, according to the fundraising site that his family set up to support his defence.
Reuters
Three US citizens sentenced to death in DR Congo over role in failed coup
Image: DRC Presidency
Three US citizens are among 37 defendants sentenced to death by a military court on Friday for their role in a May failed coup in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Armed men briefly occupied an office of the presidency in the capital Kinshasa on May 19 before their leader, US-based Congolese politician Christian Malanga, was killed by security forces.
His son, Marcel Malanga, was among the Americans on trial, together with Marcel's friend, Tyler Thompson, who played high school football with him in Utah. Both are in their 20s.
The third American, Benjamin Zalman-Polun, was a business associate of Christian Malanga.
All three were found guilty of criminal conspiracy, terrorism and other charges, and sentenced to death in a ruling read on live TV.
Malanga had previously told the court his father had threatened to kill him unless he participated. He also told the court it was his first time visiting DRC at the invitation of his father, who he had not seen in years.
The Americans are among about 50 people, including US, British, Canadian, Belgian and Congolese citizens, standing trial after the failed coup.
DRC army says it stopped attempted coup involving US citizens
A total of 37 defendants were sentenced to death.
The verdict was read out under a tent in the yard of Ndolo military prison on the outskirts of Kinshasa. The defendants were seated in front of the judge, wearing blue and yellow prison-issued tops.
The trial began in July.
In Washington, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said embassy staff had attended the proceedings and would continue to follow developments closely.
"We understand the legal process in the DRC allows for defendants to appeal the court's decision," he told a briefing.
The 37 defendants include Belgian-Congolese citizen Jean-Jacques Wondo. Wondo's family released video messages addressed to DRC President Félix Tshisekedi ahead of the trial to ask for his release.
"I beg you, intervene. He is innocent," his wife Nathalie Kayembe Wondo said in the message.
Relatives of Marcel Malanga and Thompson did not respond to requests for comment.
Marcel Malanga's mother, Brittney Sawyer, has previously said her son is innocent.
Thompson's stepmother, Miranda Thompson, has previously said her stepson travelled to DRC on vacation to explore the world.
Thompson is feeling lonely and isolated in prison, according to the fundraising site that his family set up to support his defence.
Reuters
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