Paul Rusesabagina, a businessman whose role in saving more than 1,000 lives during the 1994 Rwandan genocide inspired the film Hotel Rwanda, has been released from prison after his 25-year sentence on terrorism charges was commuted.
Rusesabagina was accompanied by a US embassy official as he was moved from prison to the residence of Qatar’s ambassador in Kigali late on Friday, according to two senior Biden administration officials who briefed reporters in Washington.
It is expected he will remain in Rwanda for a couple of days before travelling to Doha and then to the US, where he holds permanent citizenship.
The US president, Joe Biden, welcomed Rusesabagina’s release, calling it a “happy outcome”.
“Paul’s family is eager to welcome him back to the United States, and I share their joy at today’s good news,” he said.
The announcement earlier on Friday by the Rwandan government of his planned release follows intense diplomacy by the US. Historically close ties between the two countries have been strained over the case, and Rwanda’s alleged meddling in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
“This is the result of a shared desire to reset US-Rwanda relationship,” Stephanie Nyombayire, a spokesperson for Rwanda’s president, Paul Kagame, tweeted.
Rusesabagina was arrested in August 2020 after being tricked on to a private plane from Dubai. He was sentenced in September 2021 over his ties to an organisation opposed to Kagame’s rule. He denied all the charges and refused to take part in the trial, which he and his supporters called a political sham.
Washington designated him as “wrongly detained”, partly because of what it called the lack of fair trial guarantees.
The former hotelier’s release may help to ease tensions with the US, which has repeatedly called on Rwanda to cease its support of the M23 armed group and to withdraw its troops from neighbouring DRC. Rwanda denies any involvement in DRC.
“I commend 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,” Jim Risch, ranking member of the US Senate foreign relations committee, said in a statement.
The issue has been delicate for the US, which is seeking to reinforce its relationship with Kagame amid growing regional instability and competition for influence from other powers across the continent.
“Under Rwandan law, commutation of sentence does not extinguish the underlying conviction,” Rwandan government spokesperson Yolande Makolo said. “Rwanda notes the constructive role of the US government in creating conditions for dialogue on this issue, as well as the facilitation provided by the state of Qatar.”
Rwanda’s justice ministry said in a statement: “If any individual benefiting from early release repeats offences of a similar nature, the commutation can be revoked and the remainder of the prison sentence will be served.”
Rusesabagina, a vocal critic of Kagame, acknowledged having a leadership role in an opposition group, the Rwanda Movement for Democratic Change (MRCD), but denied responsibility for attacks carried out on Rwanda by its armed wing, the Forces for National Liberation.
The trial judges said the two wings of the group were indistinguishable.
“I regret not taking more care to ensure that members of the MRCD coalition fully adhered to the principles of nonviolence,” Rusesabagina wrote in a 14 October letter to Kagame, which was released by the justice ministry. “If I am granted a pardon and released, I understand fully that I will spend the remainder of my days in the United States in quiet reflection.”
His family had warned about his deteriorating health, voicing fears that he could die behind bars. “We are pleased to hear the news about Paul’s release. The family is hopeful to reunite with him soon,” the family said in a statement.
Kagame, who won a third term in power with 98% of the vote at elections in 2017, is credited with the development and stability Rwanda has experienced since the genocide in 1994, but is also accused of intolerance of any opposition, whether domestic or international. Critics of his rule are frequently detained and several high-profile political dissidents have been murdered abroad.
News of Rusesabagina’s planned release surprised many in the capital, Kigali.
“There is a degree of shock and anger among a section of Rwandans who didn’t expect Rusesabagina to be released so soon into a 25-year prison sentence given that they were told he was behind a rebel group that killed civilians,” said Gonzaga Muganwa, a Rwandan political analyst. Muganwa said it was clear that the Rwandan government was now prioritising relations with the US.
Talks on a potential release started at the end of 2022 and a breakthrough came last week in discussions between Kagame and the Qatari emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, a source with knowledge of the negotiations told Agence France-Presse.
Reuters and Agence France-Presse contributed to this report