‘Hotel Rwanda hero’ Paul Rusesabagina arrested on terror charges
- Paul Rusesabagina face charges ‘of serious crime including terrorism, arson, kidnap and murder’, Rwanda police say
- The 66-year-old has been an outspoken critic of President Paul Kagame for several years
Paul Rusesabagina, portrayed in the film Hotel Rwanda as a hero who saved the lives of more than 1,200 people from the country’s 1994 genocide, has been arrested by the Rwandan government on terror charges, police said.
A well-known critic of President Paul Kagame, Rusesabagina had been living outside Rwanda since 1996 and police did not say where he was apprehended. He had been living in Belgium and then in Texas in the US.
Rusesabagina’s daughter said that he travelled last week from the US to Dubai, where he was kidnapped and taken to Rwanda.
In handcuffs and a face mask, Rusesabagina, 66, was shown to the press in Rwanda’s capital, Kigali, on Monday by police. He has not yet been formally charged in court.
“Through international cooperation, the Rwanda Bureau of Investigation wants to inform the general public that Paul Rusesabagina has been arrested,” police said on Monday.
“Rusesabagina is suspected to be the founder, leader, sponsor and member of violent, armed, extremist terror outfits including the Rwanda Movement for Democratic Change (MRCD) operating out of various places in the region and abroad,” police said.