On Saturday, March 25, 2023, Paul Rusesabagina was released from prison in Rwanda, where he had been serving a 25-year sentence since September 2021. The hero of “Hotel Rwanda” was arrested for broadly understood terrorist activities.
Paul Rusesabagina opposed Paul Kagame’s rule. He was accused of terrorism
The world met Paul Rusesabagin in 2004, when Terry George made the film “Hotel Rwanda”. The Hollywood production dealt with the topic of the Rwandan genocide that took place in 1994. It was during these gruesome events, when the Hutu ethnic group murdered members of the Tutsi tribe, that the man saved the lives of hundreds of citizens by sheltering them in a hotel he managed. For his actions, he was granted Belgian citizenship and permanent residency in the United States. In this way, he was able to publicly voice his opposition to the rule of Rwandan President Paul Kagame.
The Rwandan authorities sentenced him to 25 years in prison. Now the sentence has been reduced
In 2020, Paul Rusesabagina was arrested at Kigali airport while on an international trip from Dubai and brought to justice. During the trial, he was charged with belonging to the MRCD-FLN terrorist group, with which he allegedly committed two attacks in which nine people were killed. In September 2021, he was found guilty and sent to prison, where he was to serve a sentence of 25 years in prison.
According to the Clooney Foundation for Justice and the US government, the evidence gathered was not sufficient to confirm his involvement in terrorist attacks, and furthermore, his detention was against the applicable law. As a result of all indications of omission of relevant legal provisions, in October 2022 Paul Rusesabagina sent a letter to the President of Rwanda asking for clemency.
Under pressure from the Belgian and US authorities, Paul Kagame granted the man’s request and on Friday (March 24, 2023) his sentence was commuted. Although he was released the next day, he is still guilty of the crimes he is accused of under local law. “Changing the sentence does not reverse the core belief,” Rwandan government spokeswoman Yolande Makolo said in a statement.
Source: Gazeta
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