Paul Rusesabaginathe man who inspired the protagonist of the Hollywood film “Rwandan Hotels”, he was released from prison as an opponent of the Rwandan government. He is now located in the ambassador’s residence Qatar waiting to leave for the United States, where he lived before being tried. In 1994, the year of the Rwandan genocide, Rusesabagina – who ran a hotel in the capital Kigali – welcomed over a thousand people, saving them from death. The protagonist of the 2004 American film is inspired by him and narrates the events of those days of massacre.
And thanksgiving from the US has arrived. “We welcome the release of Paul Rusesabagina by the Government of Rwanda. It is a relief to know that Paul is being reunited with his family and the US Government is grateful to the Government of Rwanda for making this reunion possible. We also thank the Government of Rwanda Qatar for invaluable assistance that will enable Paul’s return to the United States,” the secretary of state said Antony Blink.
Rusesabagina was pardoned by the Rwandan president Paul Kagame after being sentenced in 2021 to 25 years in prison for terrorism offences. The plane that was supposed to take him to neighboring Burundi in August 2020 landed in Kigali instead: his family and lawyers described it as a “kidnapping”. On 20 September 2021, the High Court for International and Cross-Border Crimes in Kigali found him guilty of creating and funding the FLN, the armed wing of his party, the Movement for Democratic Change of Rwanda (MRCD). The court handed down a sentence of 25 years in prison in a prosecution condemned by NGOs such as Amnesty International.
Qatar had a mediation role in obtaining the release of the 68-year-old former manager, said Rwandan government spokeswoman Yolande Makolo, mediation also confirmed by the US government.