Paul Rusesabagina, a former hotel manager portrayed as a hero in the Hollywood film “Hotel Rwanda” about the Rwandan genocide, is set to be freed from prison.
In 2021, a Rwandan court sentenced Rusesabagina to 25 years in prison for terrorism. The court said he was found guilty of backing a rebel group behind deadly attacks in 2018 and 2019.
Although Rusesabagina left Rwanda in 1996, it was the 2004 movie “Hotel Rwanda” that brought him to the limelight.
The Oscar-nominated movie portrays Rusesabagina’s successful effort to save about 1,200 refugees, including his family, during the genocide in 1994 by sheltering them in the besieged hotel that he managed.
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He was later awarded the presidential medal of freedom by former United States President George Bush for his courage.
However, Rusesabagina later became a fierce critic of Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame leading him into brushes with the Rwandan government.
His prison sentence in 2021 brought on a series of intense diplomatic talks from Qatar and the US where he is a permanent resident.
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In a statement on Friday, Stephanie Nyombayire, Kagame’s spokesperson, said Rusesabagina’s sentence had been commuted.
She said the decision to release the former hotel manager was the result of a shared desire to reset the US-Rwanda relationship and that the close relationship between Rwanda and Qatar was key.
A commutation does not negate the conviction and can be revoked should crimes be repeated, the presidential spokesperson added.
Rusesabagina is expected to be released on Saturday.
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