Rwandan president sees ‘way forward’ for jailed Hotel Rwanda hero
- Paul Rusesabagina was jailed for 25 years in 2021 on terrorism charges , after a trial his supporters say was a sham that was plagued with irregularities
- Without offering commitment to release the ailing 68-year-old Rusesabagina, Rwandan President Paul Kagame told an international forum that ‘there is work going on’
Rwanda is working to end a showdown with the United States and rights groups over the jailing of a government critic whose life inspired a Hollywood film, President Paul Kagame said on Monday.
Without offering any commitment to release the ailing 68-year-old, the Rwandan leader told an international forum that “there is work going on” over the case.
Rusesabagina was the manager of a Kigali hotel and is credited with helping to save hundreds of lives during the 1994 genocide in which about 800,000 people died.
Rusesabagina, whose story inspired the 2004 movie “Hotel Rwanda”, became a vocal critic of Kagame, founding his own party.
The US said Rusesabagina – who holds Belgian citizenship and a US green card – was “wrongfully detained” after a plane carrying him to Burundi was diverted to Rwanda in 2020.
He was accused of supporting the National Liberation Front (FLN), a rebel group which is blamed for attacks inside Rwanda in 2018 and 2019 that killed nine people.