Freed from the hero of “Hotel Rwanda” in Qatar, he joins his family in the United States
The man who inspired the movie ‘Hotel Rwanda’ and was freed by Rwanda last week from a terrorism conviction has arrived in Qatar en route to reunite with his family in the US
NAIROBI, Kenya — The man who inspired the movie ‘Hotel Rwanda’ and was freed by Rwanda last week from a terrorism conviction has arrived in Qatar en route to reunite with his family in the United States.
Paul Rusesabagina is currently in Doha, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Monday.
“He will soon return to the United States. And his family is, as I’m sure no one is surprised, they can’t wait to welcome him back here, home. The White House has been and remains engaged in every step of this process,” Kirby said.
Rusesabagina, 68, a legal US resident and Belgian citizen who left Rwanda after saving hundreds of compatriots during the 1994 genocide, was convicted in 2021 of terrorism offenses and sentenced to 25 years in prison in a a widely criticized trial.
Rusesabagina disappeared in 2020 during a visit to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates and appeared a few days later in Rwanda in handcuffs. His family claimed he had been kidnapped. He was found guilty of eight counts, including membership in a terrorist group, murder and kidnapping.
Rusesabagina claimed his arrest was in response to his criticism of longtime President Paul Kagame over alleged human rights abuses. Kagame’s government has repeatedly denied targeting dissenting voices with arrests and extrajudicial executions.
In a signed letter to Kagame dated October 14 and posted on the Justice Ministry website, the sick Rusesabagina expressed regret for any violence and wrote that “if I get a pardon and am released, I fully understand that I will spend the rest of my life”. days in the United States in quiet reflection. I can assure you by this letter that I have no other personal or political ambitions. I will leave behind me the questions concerning Rwandan politics.
His arrest was a source of friction with the United States and others at a time when the Rwandan government was also under pressure due to tensions with neighboring Congo and the British plan to deport asylum seekers to the country. small nation in East Africa.
Kirby said US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan was personally engaged in the case, “really doing the heavy lifting to get Paul released and brought home.”
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AP reporter Aamer Madhani in Washington contributed.
