Jewish American Among 3 Spared Death Penalty by Congo President After Alleged Coup

Three men sentenced to death for alleged involvement in a failed coup in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, including one Jewish man, were sent back to the US Tuesday after having their sentences commuted by the country’s president.

President Félix Tshisekedi issued pardons for Benjamin Reuben Zalman-Polun, an American Jewish man, along with Marcel Malanga and Tyler Thompson after talks with President Donald Trump’s senior Africa advisor, Massad Boulos, who traveled to the Congolese capital Kinshasa last week to discuss a potential minerals deal between the U.S. and the DRC. Under the deal, the Congo would supply the US with crucial minerals in exchange for security guarantees, as tensions between the current regime and Rwandan rebels intensify.

All three had been incarcerated since the alleged coup and were facing the death penalty before the intervention.

“This shows that the collaboration and cooperation between the two states is growing stronger and stronger,” Tina Salama, Tshisekedi’s spokesperson told Reuters. The State Department said in an email to the news outlet that bringing home Americans was a top priority for the administration.

The original charges stemmed from what authorities in Kinshasa described as a coup attempt, when armed men led by Christian Malanga, Marcel’s father, stormed a government office last September. A total of 50 people were arrested and 37, including the 3 Americans, were given the death penalty. Marcel Malanga says his father, who was killed during the incident, threatened to kill him if he didn’t join him.