3 Americans among dozens sentenced to death in Congo coup attempt

A military court in Congo handed down death sentences Friday to 37 people, including three Americans, after convicting them on charges of taking part in a coup attempt.

The defendants, most of them Congolese but also including a Briton, Belgian and Canadian, have five days to appeal the verdict on charges that included attempted coup, terrorism and criminal association. Fourteen people were acquitted in the trial, which opened in June.

The court in Kinshasa remained silent as the verdicts were read, with defendants dressed in blue and yellow prison uniforms and seated on plastic chairs, faces somber.