Rwanda says Paul Rusesabagina of Hotel Rwanda fame to be freed

Rwanda’s government has commuted the 25-year sentence of Paul Rusesabagina, who inspired the film Hotel Rwanda for saving hundreds of countrymen from genocide but was convicted of terrorism offences years later in a widely criticized trial.

Government spokeswoman Yolande Makolo told the Associated Press on Friday that the presidential order was issued after a request for clemency, and Mr. Rusesabagina, a 68-year-old U.S. resident and Belgian citizen, is expected to be released on Saturday. Nineteen others also had their sentences commuted. Under Rwandan law, commutation doesn’t “extinguish” the conviction, Ms. Makolo added.

President Paul Kagame earlier this month said discussions were under way on resolving the issue.

Qatar foreign ministry spokesman Majid Al-Ansari said in a statement that “the procedure for [Rusesabagina’s] transfer to the state of Qatar is under way and he will then head to the United States of America. This issue was discussed during meetings that brought together Qatari and Rwandan officials at the highest levels.”

Mr. Rusesabagina disappeared in 2020 during a visit to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates and appeared days later in Rwanda in handcuffs. His family alleged he was kidnapped and taken to Rwanda against his will to stand trial.

He was convicted on eight charges including membership in a terrorist group, murder and abduction. But the circumstances surrounding his arrest, his limited access to an independent legal team and his reported worsening health drew international concern.

Mr. Rusesabagina has asserted that his arrest was in response to his criticism of Mr. Kagame over alleged human rights abuses. Mr. Kagame’s government has repeatedly denied targeting dissenting voices with arrests and extrajudicial killings.

In a signed letter to Mr. Kagame dated Oct. 14 and posted on the justice ministry’s website, Mr. Rusesabagina wrote that “if I am granted a pardon and released, I understand fully that I will spend the remainder of my days in the United States in quiet reflection. I can assure you through this letter that I hold no personal or political ambitions otherwise. I will leave questions regarding Rwandan politics behind me.”

Mr. Rusesabagina was credited with sheltering more than 1,000 ethnic Tutsis at the hotel he managed during Rwanda’s 1994 genocide in which over 800,000 Tutsis and Hutus who tried to protect them were killed. He received the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom for his efforts.

He became a public critic of Mr. Kagame and left Rwanda in 1996, first living in Belgium and then the U.S.

Human Rights Watch said he had been “forcibly disappeared” and taken to Rwanda.