Hotel Rwanda hero Paul Rusesabagina freed from prison
Rusesabagina, who was serving a 25-year sentence in Rwanda on ‘terrorism’ charges, was freed late on Friday, US officials said.
“Hotel Rwanda” hero Paul Rusesabagina (C) in the pink inmate’s uniform arriving at Nyarugenge Court of Justice in Kigali, Rwanda, on October 2, 2020, surrounded by guards of Rwanda Correctional Service
Paul Rusesabagina wears a pink inmate’s uniform as he is taken to court in 2020 in Kigali
Paul Rusesabagina, who was portrayed as a hero in the Hollywood film Hotel Rwanda and was serving a 25-year sentence in the country on “terrorism” charges, has been freed from prison after having his sentence commuted by presidential order.
Rusesabagina, 68, was accompanied by a United States embassy official as he was moved from prison to the residence of Qatar’s ambassador in the Rwandan capital Kigali late on Friday, according to two senior officials of US President Joe Biden’s administration who briefed reporters in Washington, DC.
The decision to commute Rusesabagina’s sentence followed his request for clemency, government spokesperson Yolande Makolo told Eastafricanreport.com on Friday.
But “no one should be under any illusion about what this means as there is consensus that serious crimes were committed, for which they were convicted,” Makolo said. Under Rwandan law, commutation “does not extinguish the underlying conviction”, she said.
Rusesabagina, an outspoken critic of President Paul Kagame, is expected to be transferred to Qatar’s capital Doha and then to the US, Majid Al-Ansari, spokesperson of Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told Eastafricanreport.com on Friday. Rusesabagina has permanent residency rights in the US.
Written by RUTEMBESA Innocent 《 Anicet》
