The trial on last month’s failed coup d’état attempt on May 19 continued on Friday, June 14 at Ndolo Military Prison where the Gombe/Garrison military court of sat for continued proceedings.
During this second hearing, the military court had to settle the issue of examining the single application filed by the lawyers of the defendant Zalman Polun Benjamin, a U.S. national.
Zalman Polun Benjamin request for the cancellation of the proceedings conducted last week citing that the minutes of the hearings did not faithfully transcribe his words with his lawyers maintaining that the interpreter appointed for this purpose did not speak English.
“I am going to ask your court to be able to declare our single brief admissible in form and to declare it as well founded. Accordingly, annul the entire pre-court proceedings, including all minutes of the hearing, the interrogation of our client and all other subsequent minutes. We are talking about our client and it is in relation to our client that we are asking for the annulment,” the defendant’s lawyers asked in court.
All the defendants including the coup Christian Malanga’s son, Marcel, are being prosecuted for terrorism, illegal possession of weapons of war, attempted murder, criminal association, murder, and financing of terrorism.
These offences prescribes the death penalty, which came into effect following the lifting of the moratorium on 13 March 2024 by the Congolese government.
