A military court in Kinshasa on Friday sentenced 37 people to death, following an attempted coup last May.

The verdict, delivered by Major Freddy Ehume, includes charges of criminal association, attack and terrorism.

According to the Congolese army, those sentenced include three Americans, a Belgian, a Briton and a Canadian and all Congolese nationals,

Recall the May 19 attack targeted the residence of Vital Kamerhe, president of the National Assembly, before the assailants stormed the Palais de la Nation, flying the Zaire flag.

Christian Malanga, the leader of the operation, was killed during the intervention of security forces.

Malanga’s son Marcel and Belgian Jean-Jacques Wondo were also sentenced to death.

The trial, which has been described as opaque by their lawyers, did not shed light on the real motivations behind this operation.