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The Rwandan government has commuted the sentence of Paul Rusesabagina, who inspired the film Rwandan hotel for saving hundreds of citizens from massacre but was convicted of terrorism offenses years later in a widely criticized trial.
Government spokeswoman Yolande Makolo told The Associated Press on Friday that the 25-year sentence was commuted by order of the president after a request for clemency. Under Rwandan law, commutation does not “kill” the conviction, he added.
Rusesabagina, a 68-year-old US citizen and Belgian citizen, is expected to be released on Saturday, he said. Nineteen others have also had their sentences changed.
“Rwanda noted the constructive role of the US government in creating the conditions for dialogue on this issue, as well as the facilitation provided by the state of Qatar,” Makolo said.
When the news broke on Friday, the family said in a statement that “we are happy to hear the news of Paul’s release. His family looks forward to being reunited with him.”
Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majid Al-Ansari said in a statement that “transfer procedures to the state of Qatar are underway and he will move to the United States. This issue was discussed during meetings that brought Qatari and Rwandan officials at the highest level.”
Mystery remains about his disappearance
President Paul Kagame earlier this month said discussions were underway to resolve the issue. The case has been described by the United States and others as unfair.
Rusesabagina is credited with sheltering more than 1,000 ethnic Tutsis in a hotel it ran during the 1994 Rwandan genocide, and more than 800,000 Tutsis and Hutus who tried to protect them died. He received the US Presidential Medal of Freedom from George W. Bush for his efforts.
He became a public critic of Kagame and left Rwanda in 1996, first living in Belgium and then the US.
Rusesabagina left his home in Texas at the end of 2020 and disappeared while visiting Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, a few days later in Rwanda in handcuffs. His family claims he was abducted and taken to Rwanda against his will to face trial.
He was convicted on eight charges including being a member of a terrorist group, murder and kidnapping. But the circumstances surrounding his arrest, his limited access to an independent legal team and his reported health are growing concerns.
Rwanda: Rusesabagina was tricked, not kidnapped
Rusesabagina insisted that his arrest was in response to criticism of Kagame over allegations of human rights abuses. Kagame’s government has repeatedly denied targeting dissenting voices with arrests and extrajudicial killings.
In a letter signed to Kagame on October 14 and posted on the website of the ministry of justice, Rusesabagina wrote that “if I am pardoned and released, I fully understand that I will spend the rest of my days in the United States in peace. I can assure you through this letter that I have no other personal or political ambitions. I will leave the question of Rwandan politics behind me.”
Human Rights Watch said they had been “enforced disappearances” and taken to Rwanda.
But a court there ruled that she was not kidnapped when she was tricked into boarding a chartered plane.
The Rwandan government said Rusesabagina had traveled to Burundi to coordinate with armed groups there and in Congo.
Rusesabagina is accused of supporting the armed wing of the opposition political platform, the Rwandan Movement for Democratic Change. The armed group claimed some responsibility for attacks in 2018 and 2019 in southern Rwanda in which nine Rwandans were killed.
Rusesabagina testified in court that he helped form armed groups to help refugees but that he never supported violence. Rusesabagina also said he was arrested and tortured before being imprisoned, but the Rwandan authorities denied it.
After his sentence, the Belgian foreign minister at the time, Sophie Wilmes, said that “it must be concluded that Mr. Rusesabagina has not been given a fair and just trial.”
Last year, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Kagame in Rwanda and said the US did not believe the trial was fair.
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