A military court in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has sentenced to death 37 people, including three United States citizens, on charges of taking part in a failed coup in May.

The defendants – who also included a Briton, Belgian and Canadian – have five days to appeal the verdict. Fourteen people were acquitted in the trial, which opened in June.

Richard Bondo, the lawyer who defended the six foreigners, told the Associated cated Press news agency he disputed whether the death penalty could currently be imposed in the DRC despite its reinstatement this year and said his clients had inadequate interpreters during the investigation of the case.

At the time of the attempted coup, military officials said armed men had briefly occupied an office of the presidency in the capital, Kinshasa, on May 19. Their leader, US-based Congolese politician Christian Malanga, was killed by security forces, and two security guards were also killed in the failed takeover.