Paul Rusesabagina, the man who sheltered and saved hundreds of Rwandans during the 1994 genocide, has been arrested on terror charges. Rusesabagina is the main feature in the film “Hotel Rwanda,” which portrayed him as a hero after saving over 1,200 people.
Rusesabagina is a well-known longtime critic of Kagame’s government and has been living outside Rwanda since 1996. Police did not disclose where he was arrested. Before his arrest, Rusesabagina has been living in Belgium and the U.S.
In a Twitter statement, the country’s Bureau of Investigation announced that Rusesabagina was in their custody after an international operation that led to his arrest. The statement did not disclose where he was arrested.
According to the Rwanda Investigation Bureau, an international warrant of arrest had been issued, and he is currently being held in Rwanda’s capital. The agency said Rusesabagina, 66, will be charged with being a “founder, leader and sponsor of violent, armed, extremist terror outfits.”
Rusesabagina was shown to the press in Rwanda’s capital, Kigali, on Monday while in handcuffs and a facemask.
“Through international cooperation, the Rwanda Bureau of Investigation wants to inform the general public that Paul Rusesabagina has been arrested,” police said in a statement.
Rusesabagina was not arrested in Belgium
Belgium authorities where Rusesabagina has been staying said he was not arrested in the country. Belgium went on to say that they were informed of his arrest by Rwanda judiciary.
Rusesabagina and his supporters have long maintained that he is a victim of Kagame’s government for political reasons. This is because of his sustained criticism to the government and how the Rwanda Patriotic Front ended the genocide in 1994.
Speaking to the media following his fathers’ arrest, Trésor Rusesabagina said that he was shocked by the arrest of his father. He added that the senior Rusesabagina spoke to his wife and daughter on his way to Dubai.
Rusesabagina has won several global awards to recognize his fight for human rights, including the United States Presidential Medal of Freedom awarded by President George W. Bush in 2005.