The Hollywood Movie “Hotel RwandaPaul Rusesabagina has received international acclaim for saving hundreds of lives in 1994 genocide In the Central African nation, but in his homeland, he is now being tried as a terrorist.
The 66-year-old Rusesabagina, a fierce critic of the powerful President of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, had lived in Belgium and the United States for 25 years. However, he was lured back to Rwanda last year, where he was arrested and charged with financing terrorism, arson, armed robbery, kidnapping and murder. If convicted, he could be sentenced to more than 20 years in prison.
“As the best-known critic of President Kagame, Paul Rusesabagina posed a threat to his international image,” said Timothy Longman, professor of political science and international relations at Boston University.
The Foreign Ministry, which previously criticized the Rwandan authorities for failing to follow due process, has urged the government to respect the rule of law and ensure that Rusesabagina is treated fairly.
“We are very concerned about public statements, including from some Rwandan authorities, that correspondence between Rusesabagina and his lawyers has been intercepted,” a State Department spokesman told NBC News after a Justice Department leaked video showed that Rusesabagina received communications from the prison Officials were called: “We urge the Rwandan government to make fully transparent both the means and the legal basis for the arrival of Mr. Rusesabagina in Rwanda.”
President George W. Bush presented Paul Rusesabagina with the Presidential Medal of Freedom Award in November 2005. Lawrence Jackson / AP file
Congress leaders have also raised concerns about the case and sent a non-partisan letter to Kagame asking that Rusesabagina be returned to his family. Last month the European Parliament also voted for an investigation into the arrest of Rusesabagina.
On March 12, Rusesabagina said he would no longer attend the trial because his “fundamental rights” were being denied. However, Rwandan prosecutors said the evidence against him was strong.
Download the NBC News App for breaking news and politics
Rusesabagina and Kagame became known for their exploits in 1994 when extremist Hutus targeted the Tutsi ethnic minority population, resulting in over 800,000 deaths.
The western countries have only evacuated their own nationals.
While running the luxurious Hotel des Mille Collines, Rusesabagina used top-quality alcohol and Cuban cigars to distract extremists from murdering Rwandans posing as his guests.
“If you stay friends with monsters, you can find cracks in their armor that you can take advantage of,” wrote Rusesabagina in his 2006 memoir book: “An ordinary man.”
The Hotel des Mille Collines in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, in November 2006. Jody Kurash / AP file
Meanwhile, the Rwandan Patriotic Front led by Kagame liberated the capital, Kigali, ending one of the bloodiest 100-day journeys in modern history.
The RPF has held power since then. Under Kagame, who became president in 2000, the former Belgian colony grew through foreign investment from companies and organizations such as Starbucks and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
However, human rights groups have criticized Kagame for stifling political debate. Freedom houseRwanda, a US-based human rights group, said Rwanda has seen pervasive surveillance and alleged assassinations in the past, which has resulted in the expulsion of Rwandan diplomats from countries like Sweden and South Africa.
“While Kagame can be commended for many things, especially good economic management, he was extremely intolerant of criticism,” Longman said.
Rusesabagina’s star would rise if Don Cheadles The portrayal of him in the 2004 film “Hotel Rwanda” was nominated for an Oscar and brought him to the red carpet next door Angelina Jolie.
He used his public profile as an opportunity to criticize Kagame.
Pictures of some of the deceased hang in the Kigali Genocide Memorial Center in the Rwandan capital of Kigali. Ben Curtis / AP file
In 2017, Rusesabagina mobilized the Rwandan Movement for Democratic Change (MRCD), a coalition of banned political parties that opposed Kagame and called for more democratic freedom in Rwanda.
In a video earlier this year, Rusesabagina urged supporters “to use all means to bring about change in Rwanda”.
Now prosecutors have linked those words to a series of attacks by the MRCD-backed National Liberation Front in Rwanda’s Nyungwe Forest in 2018 and 2019, in which nine civilians were killed.
Rusesabagina’s family has called the trial a “fraud” and said they have no command over the National Liberation Front.
However, prosecutors have filed extensive charges against Rusesabagina and 17 co-defendants, including a 2011 referral allegedly sent by Rusesabagina to a rebel Hutu commander.
NBC News was unable to confirm these claims and the Justice Department declined a request for comment.
Belgian police also raided Rusesabagina’s home in Brussels in 2019 and confiscated computers, phones and documents that Rusesabagina’s prosecutors said contained evidence of Rusesabagina’s connection to the National Liberation Front.
Paul Rusesabagina stands before the judge as he attends a trial in Kigali, Rwanda, in February. Muhizi Olivier / AP file
The circumstances surrounding Rusesabagina’s arrest have also sparked controversy.
Recent legal proceedings suggest that Rusesabagina was put on a private plane in Burundi after a flight from Chicago to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates in August with false offers.
Instead, the flight landed in Rwanda, where Rusesabagina was arrested and did not appear publicly for days.
His family describes it as a kidnapping, but Kagame denied wrongdoing during an appearance on state television in September, describing the operation as “flawless”.
The Rusesabagina international defense team, whom he is not allowed to speak to, says the Rwandan government should have requested his diplomatic extradition.
“We fear that he will die in prison,” said his daughter Anaise Kanimba, citing health concerns for her father. “The Biden administration should stop believing that a fair trial is possible.”
Rwandan Attorney General Aimable Havugiyaremye said Rusesabagina’s right to a fair trial is protected and the trial is “open and transparent”.
