‘Hotel Rwanda’ dissident released after 21/2 years
More than two and a half years after he was kidnapped on a private jet and later sentenced to prison on terrorism-related charges, Paul Rusesabagina, the hotelier-turned-dissident whose heroism was portrayed in “Hotel Rwanda,” was released from prison late Friday, according to the Rwandan government and U.S. officials who briefed reporters in Washington.
Rusesabagina arrived at the residence of Qatar’s ambassador to Rwanda, the U.S. officials said, and will travel in the next couple of days to the Qatari capital, Doha. After a short stopover there, Rusesabagina is expected to head to the United States to reunite with his family, with whom he has missed milestones that include the births of two grandchildren and the college graduation of his son.
Rusesabagina’s departure from Rwanda will end an ordeal that lasted more than 900 days, during which he said he was blindfolded and tortured, held in solitary confinement and threatened with shortages of food, water and his medication. Rusesabagina’s arrest and trial put new scrutiny on Rwandan President Paul Kagame, who has been accused of cracking down on dissent at home and targeting opponents abroad.
Rusesabagina’s release was achieved after months of negotiations led by the White House.
Rusesabagina, 68, rose to fame for his role in sheltering and saving 1,268 people at the luxury hotel he managed in Kigali, the Rwandan capital, during the 1994 genocide. He later moved to the United States and over the years became an outspoken critic of the autocratic rule of Kagame.
In August 2020, when Rwandan operatives lured Rusesabagina from his home in San Antonio to Dubai. While there, he boarded a private jet believing he was going to a speaking engagement in Burundi, only to land in Rwanda.
In September 2021, after a seven-month trial, he was given a 25-year sentence.