Paul Rusesabagina, the former manager who inspired the film “Hotel Rwanda” about the 1994 genocide in the African country, was released on Saturday, sentenced to 25 years in prison for terrorism.
After 939 days, the sentence was commuted by order of President Paul Kagame, apparently because Rwanda wants to return to good diplomatic relations with the United States, writes the AFP agency.
Paul Rusesabagina was released this Friday, shortly before midnight, away from television cameras and journalists, and taken to the residence of the Qatari ambassador in Kigali, where he will remain for a few days before heading to the United States.
In 2021, the Kigali Chamber of the Supreme Court for International and Cross-Border Crimes found Paulo Rusesabagina, 67, guilty of forming and financing a terrorist group for leading the National Liberation Front (FLN), the armed wing of his party. , the Rwandan Movement for Democratic Change (MRCD).
The former director, who did not appear in court in March on the grounds that he would not receive a fair trial, was arrested on August 31 at Kigali International Airport in a detention described by his family and lawyers as “.
“We have decided that his role in the creation of the NLF, his provision of funds and the purchase of secure phones for its use constitute the offense of committing terrorism. Therefore, we find him guilty of the offense of terrorism,” Judge Beatrice said. Mukamurenzi, while she read the verdict.
The former manager was charged with nine counts of terrorism, including forming an irregular armed group, belonging to a terrorist group and financing terrorism, as well as murder, kidnapping and armed robbery, as an act of terrorism.
Rusesabagina was manager of the famous Thousand Hills Hotel in the Rwandan capital and housed more than 1,000 Tutsi and Hutu moderates to save them from Hutu extremists during the 1994 genocide.
The former director became a highly critical opponent of Rwandan President Paul Kagame and lived in exile between Belgium and the United States, where he created a foundation to promote reconciliation in order to prevent further genocide.
These events later inspired the film “Hotel Rwanda”, which earned him wide recognition around the world. At home, however, he was criticized by many survivors who accused him of exploiting the genocide for personal gain.
The genocide began on April 7, 1994, after the assassination, the day before, of the presidents of Rwanda, Juvénal Habyarimana (Hutu), and of Burundi, Cyprien Ntaryamira (Hutu), when the plane they were traveling in was shot down over Kigali.
The killings (for which the Rwandan government blamed Tutsi rebels from Kagame’s Rwandan Patriotic Front) led to the massacre of an estimated 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus in about 100 days, one of the worst ethnic murders in recent history.
Source: TSF
