Paul Rusesabagina – a one-time hotel manager portrayed as a hero in a Hollywood film about the nation’s 1994 genocide, has been found guilty of being part of a group responsible for “terrorist” attacks.
His fate was decided on Monday by a court in Rwanda with the government critic boycotting the court session after declaring he did not expect justice in a trial he called a “sham”.
Rusesabagina, 67, denies all the accusations and says he was kidnapped from Dubai this year to be put on trial. His supporters call the trial a sham, and proof of President Paul Kagame’s ruthless treatment of political opponents. His family says he is in poor health.
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Prosecutors have sought a life sentence on nine charges, including terrorism, arson, taking hostages and forming an armed rebel group which he directed from exile in the United States.
Rusesabagina became a global celebrity after the 2004 film “Hotel Rwanda” depicted him risking his life to shelter hundreds as the boss of a luxury hotel in the Rwandan capital Kigali, during the 100-day genocide when Hutu ethnic extremists killed more than 800,000 people, mostly from the Tutsi minority.
