Paul Rusesabagina, “Hotel Rwanda” Film Hero, Imprisoned in Kigali Amid Terrorism Allegations

Paul Rusesabagina received a Presidential Medal of Freedom for his courage in protecting hundreds of Hutu and Tutsi refugees during the 1994 genocide

Paul Rusesabagina, human rights activist and inspiration for the 2004 film Hotel Rwanda, faced 13 charges of anti-state action in a Kigali court on Monday. The charges included terrorism, complicity in murder, and forming or joining an armed group. He pleaded not guilty to all 13 charges.

Rwandan authorities accused Rusesabagina of supporting the Rwanda Movement for Democratic Change (MRCD) opposition party’s armed wing, the National Liberation Front (FLN), which has claimed responsibility for deadly attacks inside Rwanda. The prosecution justified the trial on the basis of a 2018 YouTube video in which Rusesabagina expressed support for the FLN, calling for change in Rwanda by “any means possible.”

“Rusesabagina heads a group of terroristts that have killed Rwandans. He will have to pay for these crimes. Rusesabagina has the blood of Rwandans on his hands,” said Rwandan President Paul Kagame on Sept 6, before the conclusion of the judicial process. 

Multiple human rights organizations have questioned the fairness of Rwanda’s judicial system in handling the case. Rusesabagina’s family hired a team of Belgian lawyers to represent him in Kigali, but the attorneys were not granted visas to enter Rwanda. 

“The lack of transparency around the arrest of Paul Rusesabagina and reports that he has been denied access to the lawyer hired by his family are red flags that cannot be ignored as the authorities prepare for his trial,” said Amnesty International’s Director for East and South Africa, Deprose Muchena in a statement. 

It is unclear how or why Rusesabagina had come to Rwanda, given that he has been living in Belgium and the United States since 1996. He was spotted in Dubai on August 26, just two days prior to his appearance in the Rwandan capital on August 28. Kagame reassured the press that the defendant was in Rwanda by his own volition. 

“He got here on the basis of what he believed and wanted to do, and he found himself here,” the 62-year-old president announced. An unnamed UAE official corroborated this account, stating that Rusesabagina was “legally” transferred to Rwanda.

Human Rights Watch, however, argues that Rusesabagina’s departure from Dubai constituted an illegal extradition. The organization reports that Rusesabagina has not been able to speak freely regarding his trial, labeling Rwanda’s actions an “enforced disappearance.”

“Those involved in and responsible for such acts should be held criminally responsible,” Human Rights Watch writes.

Carine Kanimba, daughter of Paul Rusesabagina, called the proceedings a “parody of justice” on Twitter, expressing her lack of faith in the Rwandan judicial system. Following a phone call with Rusesabagina on September 8, Kanimba told the BBC World Service that her father was now on new medication and that she suspected that Rwandan officials were monitoring their call.

Rusesabagina, a former hotel manager, played an instrumental role in protecting threatened Tutsi and Hutu civilians during the 1994 Rwandan Genocide. He housed an estimated 1,000 displaced persons fleeing from the extremist Interahamwe paramilitary group, which killed an estimated 500,000 to 1 million Rwandans in mere months. Rusesabagina was widely recognized for his actions during the genocide, receiving a Presidential Medal of Freedom from George W. Bush in 2005.

Since relocating from Rwanda in 1996, Rusesabagina has been an outspoken critic of the Kagame regime, accusing the president of oppressing the country’s Hutu majority. He was denied bail by Kicukiro Primary Court in Kigali on Thursday.