BELOW SUPERNAV drop zone ⇩

‘Hotel Rwanda’ hero arrested on terror charges, say police

MRCD-UBUMWE chairman Paul Rusesabagina poses for the photographer during a press conference of the political platform MRCD-UBUMWE and the political party RDI-EWANDA RWIZA, concerning the political and security situation in Rwanda, in Brussels, Tuesday 18 June 2019. BELGA PHOTO NICOLAS MAETERLINCK (Photo credit should read NICOLAS MAETERLINCK/AFP via Getty Images)

MAIN AREA TOP drop zone ⇩

MAIN AREA TOP drop zone ⇩

ovp test

mLife Diagnostics LLC: Oral Fluid Drug Testing

Male shot by female at Shreveport apartment

Class to create biodiverse backyard

Rules for outbursts at Caddo School Board Meeting

KIGALI, Rwanda (AP) — Paul Rusesabagina, portrayed in the film “Hotel Rwanda” as a hero who saved the lives of more than 1,200 people from the country’s 1994 genocide, has been arrested by the Rwandan government on terror charges, police announced on Monday.

A well-known critic of President Paul Kagame, Rusesabagina had been living outside Rwanda since 1996 and police did not say where he was apprehended. He had been living in Belgium and then in Texas in the U.S.

His daughter told The Associated Press that Rusesabagina had traveled from the U.S. to Dubai last week where he was kidnapped and taken to Rwanda.

In handcuffs and a facemask, Rusesabagina, 66, was shown to the press in Rwanda’s capital, Kigali, on Monday by police. He has not yet been formally charged in court.

“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 Monday.

“Rusesabagina is suspected to be the founder, leader, sponsor and member of violent, armed, extremist terror outfits including the Rwanda Movement for Democratic Change (MRCD) operating out of various places in the region and abroad,” police said.

Rwanda’s police said they had issued an arrest warrant for Rusesabagina to answer charges of serious crimes including terrorism, arson, kidnap and murder, perpetrated against unarmed, innocent Rwandan civilians on Rwandan territory. Police told the media in Kigali that investigations against Rusesabagina will continue and more information will be released about his alleged activities.

Carine Kanimba, Rusesabagina’s daughter, said the family was informed early Monday that he was being held in Rwanda. She said none of the family has been able to speak to him and they are worried he may not be getting his hypertension medication.

Kanimba, 27, reached in Washington, D.C., said she last spoke with Rusesabagina last week before his flight to Dubai but that she did not know the exact purpose of his trip there.

The state-owned RwandAir has direct flights between Dubai and Kigali.

Rusesabagina is a Belgian citizen and a permanent resident of the United States, Kanimba said.

“We’re hoping to secure his release quickly and safely,” she said.

Kanimba said her father has long been a target because of his vocal criticism of the Rwandan government.

“What they’re accusing him of is all made up,” she said “There is no evidence to what they’re claiming … We know this is a wrongful arrest.”

Rusesabagina has previously denied the government’s charges that he financially supports Rwandan rebels.

Rusesabagina has been a prominent critic of Kagame’s government, calling it a dictatorship and urging Western countries to press the government to respect human rights.

Government supporters reject Rusesabagina’s criticism, saying Kagame’s leadership supports democracy and economic growth.

Rusesabagina has won numerous international honors including the United States Presidential Medal of Freedom, which President George W. Bush awarded him in 2005.

The Rwandan government disputes Rusesabagina’s story about saving survivors at a hotel in Kigali, during the genocide, in which more than 800,000 Tutsi and Hutus who tried to protect them were killed by Hutus.

The 2004 film “Hotel Rwanda” showed Rusesabagina, a Hutu married to a Tutsi, as using his influence as a manager of the Hotel des Mille Collines, to allow more than 1,200 Tutsis to shelter in the hotel’s rooms. In the film, Rusesabagina was played by actor Don Cheadle.

Naphatal Ahishakiye, executive secretary of Ibuka, a Rwanda survivors’ organization, said that Rusesabagina’s arrest is good news for survivors of the genocide. Ahishakiye said Rusesabagina had charged people money to be able to survive in the hotel.

World

Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed

Site Settings Survey

 

MAIN AREA MIDDLE drop zone ⇩

Trending on NewsNation

MAIN AREA BOTTOM drop zone ⇩

tt

KC Chiefs parade shooting: 1 dead, 21 shot including 9 kids | Morning in America

Witness of Chiefs parade shooting describes suspect | Banfield

Kansas City Chiefs parade shooting: Mom of 2 dead, over 20 shot | Banfield

WWE star Ashley Massaro 'threatened' by board to keep quiet about alleged rape: Friend | Banfield

Friend of WWE star: Ashley Massaro 'spent hours' sobbing after alleged rape | Banfield

Fair

la

56°F Fair Feels like 56°
Wind
0 mph ENE
Humidity
57%
Sunrise
Sunset

Tonight

Clear skies. Low around 50F. Winds light and variable.
50°F Clear skies. Low around 50F. Winds light and variable.
Wind
2 mph NNE
Precip
1%
Sunset
Moon Phase
Waxing Gibbous