Paul Rusesabagina, the “hero” of ‘Hotel Rwanda’, will be released after receiving a pardon

First modification: 03/24/2023 – 19:19

The man who inspired the movie ‘Hotel Rwanda’ will be released. Paul Rusesabagina will leave prison after President Paul Kagame commuted his sentence, amid pressure from the United States and human rights groups.

The Rwandan government spokeswoman, Yolande Makolo, confirmed this Friday, March 24, that the 25-year sentence against her was commuted by presidential order, after a request for clemency.

Rusesabagina, a US resident and Belgian citizen, is scheduled to be released on Saturday, March 25, the official added.

The 68-year-old has spent more than 900 days behind bars after he was convicted in September 2021 and found guilty of eight charges, including membership in a terrorist group, kidnapping and murder.

According to the authorities’ version, Rusesabagina, a staunch critic of President Kagame, would have supported the National Liberation Front (FLN), a rebel group identified as responsible for attacks in the country in 2018 and 2019, which left nine people dead.

But human rights defenders and critics of the Rwandan president pointed out that his conviction was the result of a trial that they described as a “farce” riddled with “irregularities” and that it would have been an act of retaliation by the repressive government.

The circumstances surrounding his arrest, his limited access to an independent legal team and his worsening health raised international concern.

Rusesabagina has also affirmed that his arrest occurred in response to his criticism of the president, for alleged human rights violations.

However, the Kagame government has repeatedly denied targeting dissenting voices with arrests and extrajudicial killings.

Rusesabagina was sentenced at the time along with 20 other people, who are now also being pardoned.

“Paul Rusesabagina and Callixte Nsabimana (co-defendant) have had their prison sentences commuted by presidential order, after considering their requests for clemency (…) No one should be under any illusions about what this means, since there is consensus that serious crimes were committed , for which they were convicted,” Makolo stressed.

Paul Rusesabagina, figure who inspired ‘Hotel Rwanda’

The world learned about Rusesabagina after he was credited with helping to save some 1,200 lives during the 1994 genocide, in which some 800,000 people were killed, mainly from the Tutsi ethnic group, but also Hutus.

By then, the man was working as the manager of a five-star hotel in Kigali, where he sheltered hundreds of people, and his story inspired the 2004 Oscar-nominated film “Hotel Rwanda,” starring American actor Don Cheadle.

For his actions he was considered by many as a “hero”, although later the country’s authorities portrayed him as a villain.

After the genocide, Rusesabagina emerged as a staunch critic of the government and founded his opposition political platform, the Rwandan Movement for Democratic Change.

His criticisms of Kagame led to his being treated as an “enemy” of the state.

Human rights groups accuse Rwanda, ruled with an iron fist by Kagame since the end of the genocide, of suppressing free expression and opposition.

With Reuters and AP