The Rwandan government has commuted the sentence of Paul Rusesabagina, who inspired the film Hotel Rwanda for saving hundreds of compatriots from genocide but was convicted years later of terrorist offenses in a widely criticized trial.
US officials confirmed Friday night that Rusesabagina, a 68-year-old US citizen and Belgian citizen, was released and said he would travel to Qatar and then the United States in the next few days.
Rwandan government spokeswoman Yolande Makolo previously told The Associated Press that the 25-year sentence was commuted by a presidential order after a plea for clemency. Under Rwandan law, commutation does not “erase” the conviction, she added.
19 others also had their sentences commuted.
Paul Rusesabagina arrives at a court in Kigali, Rwanda, in a file photo February 17, 2021. Xinhua/Cyril Ndegeya/Getty
“Rwanda notes the constructive role of the US government in creating conditions for dialogue on this issue, as well as the support of the State of Qatar,” Makolo said. President Paul Kagame said earlier this month talks to resolve the issue were underway.
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“I applaud the government of Rwanda’s release today of Paul Rusesabagina,” President Biden said in a statement Friday night. “Paul’s family looks forward to welcoming him back to the United States and I share their excitement at today’s good news.”
Biden also thanked the Qatar government “for facilitating Paul’s release and return” to the United States
The case had been called unfair by the United States and others. Rusesabagina disappeared while visiting Dubai in the United Arab Emirates in 2020, and turned up handcuffed in Rwanda days later. His family claimed he was abducted and taken to Rwanda against his will to face trial.
He was convicted of eight charges, including membership of a terrorist organization, murder and kidnapping. But the circumstances of his arrest, his limited access to an independent legal team and his alleged declining health have raised international concerns.
According to the Free Rusesabagina website, he was detained for 939 days.
Rusesabagina has claimed his arrest was in response to his criticism of Kagame over alleged human rights abuses. Kagame’s government has repeatedly denied targeting dissenting voices with arrests and extrajudicial killings.
Hotel Rwanda hero Paul Rusesabagina sentenced to 25 years in prison in Rwanda on terrorism charges
In a signed Oct. 14 letter to Kagame posted on the Justice Department’s website, Rusesabagina wrote, “If I am granted a pardon and released, I fully understand that I will spend the rest of my days in the United States in silence.” will spend reflection . I can assure you through this letter that I have no other personal or political ambitions. I will put questions about Rwandan politics behind me.”
Rusesabagina has been credited with housing more than 1,000 ethnic Tutsi at the hotel he managed during the 1994 Rwanda genocide that killed over 800,000 Tutsi and Hutus trying to protect them. In 2005, President George W. Bush honored him with the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his efforts.
He became a public critic of Kagame and left Rwanda in 1996, living first in Belgium and then in the United States
Rusesabagina’s family filed a $400 million lawsuit in the US last year against Kagame, the Rwandan government and other figures for allegedly kidnapping and torturing him.
Human Rights Watch said he “disappeared by force” and was taken to Rwanda. But the court there ruled that he was not kidnapped when he was tricked into boarding a charter flight.
Rwanda’s government claimed Rusesabagina traveled to Burundi to coordinate with armed groups stationed there and in Congo.
Rusesabagina has been accused of supporting the armed wing of his opposition political platform, the Rwandan Movement for Democratic Change. The armed group claimed responsibility for attacks in southern Rwanda in 2018 and 2019 that left nine Rwandans dead.
Rusesabagina testified in court that he helped form the armed group to help refugees, but said he never supported violence – and tried to distance himself from their deadly attacks.
Rusesabagina has also said he was gagged and tortured before his detention, but the Rwandan authorities denied this. His lawyer, Felix Rudakemwa, claimed that Rusesabagina’s legal papers had been confiscated by the prison authorities.
Following his sentencing, then-Belgian Foreign Minister Sophie Wilmes said that “one must conclude that Mr Rusesabagina did not receive a fair and just trial”.
Last year US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Kagame in Rwanda and discussed the case. “We are still convinced that the trial was not fair,” Blinken told reporters.
As the news broke on Friday, his family said in a statement: “We are delighted to hear the news of Paul’s release. The family hopes to reunite with him soon.”
American actor Don Cheadle, who played Rusesabagina in the movie Hotel Rwanda, posted a message about the transformation on his Instagram account, followed by three heart emojis.
Don Cheadle (Lead Actor nominee) and Sophie Okonedo (Supporting Actress nominee) play the married couple Paul and Tatiana Rusesabagina in Hotel Rwanda. United artists
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