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Kigali
Rwandan government critic Paul Rusesabagina, who was portrayed as a hero in the Hollywood film "Hotel Rwanda" about the Rwandan genocide, arrived in the United States after being freed from prison, the White House said on Wednesday (March 29).
"I'm pleased to welcome Paul Rusesabagina back to the United States. We're glad to have him back on US soil & reunited with his family & friends who've long waited for this day to come," US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan tweeted.
Rusesabagina, 68, was serving a 25-year sentence on terrorism charges. He was transferred from prison to the residence of Qatar’s ambassador in the Rwandan capital Kigali late on Friday. He was escorted by a US embassy representative, reported CNN.
The announcement that his sentence had been commuted followed intense diplomacy by the United States, where Rusesabagina has permanent residency.
Washington's historically close ties with Rwanda have been strained by the case and by U.S. allegations, denied by Kigali, that Rwanda has sent troops into neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo and supports rebels there.
The spokesperson for Rwandan President Pauk Kagame tweeted that Rusesabagina's release was "the result of a shared desire to reset US-Rwanda relationship".
Rusesabagina, who is now 68-years-old received the prison sentence in September 2021 over his ties to a group that was opposed to President Kagame. He denied the charges and boycotted the trial, which he and his supporters called a political sham.
He also said he had been kidnapped from Dubai in 2019 and returned to Rwanda by force. Kagame denied any abduction, but suggested Rusesabagina had been tricked in Dubai into boarding a plane to Rwanda.
Washington designated him as "wrongly detained", partly because of what it called a lack of guarantees of a fair trial.
(With inputs from agencies)
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