In a true “you can’t make this stuff up” moment, six men in the Democratic Republic of Congo have been sentenced to life in prison for the 2021 murder of Italy’s ambassador and two others. Talk about taking your crime spree international, huh?

These guys definitely aren’t making any friends. After a six-month trial, a military tribunal in Kinshasa handed down the life sentences to the group responsible for the ambush on a World Food Program convoy, which left Italy’s ambassador to Congo, Luca Attanasio, Italian security officer Vittorio Iacovacci, and driver Moustapha Milambo dead.

Eastern Congo has been a hotbed of violence for decades, with over 120 armed groups duking it out for power, resources, and land. It’s basically like the wild west of Africa. Among these groups are the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, the Nyatura militia, and M23 rebels – and no, these aren’t the names of indie rock bands.

The attack happened in the same area where two Britons were kidnapped in 2018, so it seems like trouble has a way of finding its way to this neck of the woods. The government initially pointed the finger at the FDLR, who denied responsibility.

Prosecutors claim the men are part of a criminal gang and called for the death sentence. They believe the group’s plan was to kidnap the ambassador for ransom, not to kill him. Well, it looks like that plan didn’t exactly work out, now did it?

While five of the sentenced men are currently locked up in the N’Dolo military prison in Kinshasa, one is still on the run. Talk about an international manhunt in the making!

In a last-ditch effort to claim innocence, the defense says their clients were tortured into confessing and has appealed the decision, launching a new trial in military court. “They all claim they are innocent, pure and simple,” says Joseph Amzati, one of the defense lawyers.

So buckle up, folks, because it looks like this legal roller coaster is far from over. Who knows what twists and turns lie ahead?