Hero of "Hotel Rwanda" will be released after mitigated 25-year terrorist sentence

Paul Rusesabagina, who inspired the Hollywood film "Hotel Rwanda," was
released from prison in Rwanda after his prison sentence was commuted
Friday by the country's President Paul Kagame. US senior administration
officials said he will be transferred to the residence of the Qatari
ambassador in Kigali for a limited period of time and then will travel
to Doha and on to the United States. He is best known for saving
hundreds of Rwandans during the country's genocide by sheltering them in
the hotel he managed. He was arrested by Rwandan authorities while he
was traveling internationally in 2020 in what his family has claimed was
a kidnapping. At his trial in 2021, he was found guilty of being part
of a terror group called MRCD-FLN and was sentenced to 25 years in
prison.

The commutation of his sentence comes after he asked Kagame for a pardon
in an October 2022 letter. Rwandan government spokeswoman Yolande
Makolo said the commutation of sentence does not extinguish the
underlying conviction. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken welcomed the
release and thanked the Rwandan Government for making this reunion
possible. His family is hopeful to reunite with him soon.
Paul Rusesabagina was wrongfully detained by the US government, and his
release was a result of a sequence of steps involving the Rwandan
government, US government and of course Paul himself. Blinken's trip to
Rwanda played a key role in resolving the case, and National Security
Adviser Jake Sullivan took a personal hand in trying to craft a way
forward. Congressional interlocutors tried to make it clear to Rwandan
officials that the detention had become an "irritant" in the US-Rwandan
relationship, and the resolution got closer once conversations shifted
away from a discussion of guilt or innocence and more toward trying to
solve the issue.
Paul Rusesabagina, a former head of the MRCD coalition, has expressed
regret for any connection his work with the FLN may have had to violent
actions taken by the FLN. In a letter released by the Ministry of
Justice, he expressed contrition and expressed his intention to spend
the remainder of his days in the United States in quiet reflection.
Rwanda commuted his sentence, rather than pardoning him, allowing the
Rwandan government to stand by their assertion of his guilt. A US senior
administration official said that there was constructive participation
by members and congressional staff to encourage both parties to use the
existing clemency process as part of Rwandan law to help resolve the
tensions between Paul and the government of Rwanda. American lawmakers
welcomed the news, saying that his unjust detention was a stain on
Rwanda's progress toward a peaceful and stable future.
Rep. Joaquin Castro and Sen. Jim Risch praised US and Rwandan officials
for working together on Mr. Rusesabagina's release and addressing the
issues surrounding his case, including those related to justice and
political violence. An aide downplayed Qatar's role in securing the
commutation, saying that there may have been conversations between
Rwandan and Qatari officials but they had "no impact" on the case.