Prosecutors to challenge ‘Hotel Rwanda’ hero’s 25-year prison sentence

Last month, a Rwandan tribunal sentenced Paul Rusesabagina, whose heroism during the Rwandan genocide inspired the “Hotel Rwanda” movie, to 25 years successful situation aft helium was recovered blameworthy of forming a violent group. Now, prosecutors who had sought a beingness condemnation are appealing the judgment.

The determination to contention the ruling was announced successful a one-sentence tweet Wednesday. Prosecutors did not supply further accusation and could not instantly beryllium reached for remark aboriginal Thursday.

Rusesabagina, a salient professional of Rwanda’s authoritarian president Paul Kagame, was sentenced aft a months-long proceedings decried by supporters and planetary observers, including the American Bar Association, arsenic procedurally flawed and politically motivated. He has maintained his innocence.

“Rwandan authorities whitethorn spot an involvement successful keeping the proceedings successful the quality successful an effort to power the story,” said Carine Kanimba, a girl of Rusesabagina, successful an email. “They privation the satellite to spot Paul Rusesabagina arsenic a terrorist, due to the fact that this is not lone punishment ... but it volition besides person a chilling effect connected others who mightiness privation to dissent.”

“25 years is already a beingness sentence,” she added.

Along with 20 different co-defendants, the 67-year-old Rusesabagina was accused of being down attacks committed by the National Liberation Front (FLN), the militant helping of an absorption coalition. He acknowledged playing a relation successful the governmental coalition, but said helium had nary work for the actions of the equipped group.

Rwandan justice Beatrice Mukamurenzi had pointed to a 2018 video successful which Rusesabagina said “the clip has travel for america to usage immoderate means imaginable to bring astir alteration successful Rwanda, arsenic each governmental means person been tried and failed,” arsenic grounds of his culpability successful acts that resulted successful the decease of astatine slightest 9 people.

Lawyers for Rusesabagina, present a Belgian national and U.S. green-card holder, person argued determination is nary credible grounds showing that the FLN killed civilians oregon that the radical was nether his control.

The State Department, which had antecedently raised concerns astir the fairness of the verdict, and Belgium’s overseas ministry did not instantly instrumentality requests for comment.

Rusesabagina gained planetary designation aft a Hollywood movie, successful which helium was played by Don Cheadle, showcased his relation sheltering much than 1,200 radical astatine a edifice helium managed during the Rwandan Genocide. During that massacre, which ran for 100 days from April to July 1994, Hutu taste extremists killed immoderate 800,000 people.

The genocide besides brought to powerfulness Kagame, who has controlled Rwanda since helium led a Tutsi service that quashed the wide killings. Under Kagame’s rule, Rwanda has made important advancement connected economical improvement and women’s rights.

The president was erstwhile hailed arsenic a “visionary” statesman by Western leaders specified arsenic erstwhile British Prime Minister Tony Blair, but rights groups have grown progressively acrophobic astir however his critics “have been intimidated and silenced, arrested, oregon forced into exile” successful caller years.

Kanimba, Rusesabagina’s daughter, said that her begetter gets a five-minute telephone telephone with his household each week. The erstwhile edifice executive’s attorneys accidental that helium was tricked into boarding a level successful August 2020 that took him to Rwanda. Rusesabagina had near the state for Belgium much than 2 decades ago.

Advocacy groups including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch person said that his apprehension was illegal, amounting to an enforced disappearance. Government officials successful Rwanda person spoken proudly astir the operation, which Kagame called “flawless.”

Rusesabagina is not the archetypal professional of Kagame to person tally into occupation abroad. Col. Patrick Karegeya, a erstwhile Rwandan quality main turned hostile of the president, was recovered dormant successful a South African edifice country successful 2014.

The Rwandan authorities denied immoderate involvement, but erstwhile defence curate James Kabarebe reportedly said: “When you take to beryllium a dog, you dice similar a dog.”

Rachel Chason successful Nairobi contributed reporting to this article.