'Hotel Rwanda' icon Rusesabagina released from prison

Paul Rusesabagina, the man who inspired the movie "Hotel Rwanda." was released from a Rwandan prison late on Friday, US officials said.

Earlier Rwanda's government announced to cut short the 25-year jail sentence.

After his release the 68-year-old was handed over to Qatar's ambassador.

He was sentenced in September 2021 after being convicted on terrorism charges in a widely criticized trial.   

"We are pleased to hear the news about Paul's release. The family is hopeful to reunite with him soon," Rusesabagina family said in a statement. 

Who is Paul Rusesabagina?

During the 1994 Rwandan genocide, around 800,000 people, most of them from the Tutsi ethnic minority, were killed by the Hutu ethnic majority.

Rusesabagina was the manager of a hotel in the capital, Kigali, at the time the violence broke out. He is credited with helping to save the lives of at least 1,200 people by sheltering them in the hotel.

The Oscar-nominated 2004 movie "Hotel Rwanda," which stars US actor Don Cheadle in the lead role, was inspired by Rusesabagina's story.

Rusesabagina left Rwanda in 1996, moving first to Belgium and then to the United States.

After Rwandan President Paul Kagame came into power in 2000, Rusesabagina became a staunch vocal critic of his government, particularly pointing to alleged human rights abuses.

The ruling government has denied any wrongdoing.

Why was Rusesabagina convicted?

Rusesabagina pledged his support for the National Liberation Front in a video released in 2018. The armed group is considered a terrorist organization by Rwanda's government.

"The time has come for us to use any means possible to bring about change in Rwanda, as all political means have been tried and failed," he stated in the video.

Rusesabagina, a Belgian national and a US green card holder, was arrested in 2020 after he disappeared during a visit to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. He said he had planned to fly to Burundi, but the flight was diverted to Rwanda.

The Rwandan government put him on trial for being an enemy of the state, a move criticized by the United States and the United Nations.

His political supporters denounced the trial as a political sham. Rusesabagina denied all the accusations and refused to take part in the trial.

He was sentenced to 25 years in prison in September 2021 for charges including murder, abduction, and terrorism.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken held talks with Kagame in Rwanda last year and discussed the case.

"We still have conviction that the trial wasn't fair," Blinken told the press at the time.

What comes next?

The government's announcement of Rusesabagina's imminent release came after the inmate sent a letter to Kagame last October requesting clemency.

"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," he wrote. "I can assure you through this letter that I hold no personal or political ambitions otherwise."

President Kagame had hinted earlier this month that talks were being held to resolve the case.

"Rwanda notes the constructive role of the US government in creating conditions for dialogue on this issue, as well as the facilitation provided by the state of Qatar," Yolande Makolo, a government spokesperson, said.

The government of Qatar announced that Rusesabagina would fly to Doha then the United States.

lo,aa/nm   (Reuters, AFP, AP)