Voice of America
25 Mar 2023, 16:05 GMT+10
Paul Rusesabagina has been released from a Rwandan prison, according to U.S. officials, after the Rwandan government commuted his prison sentence following diplomatic efforts by the United States.
Rusesabagina, once a hotel manager in Rwanda's capital, Kigali, is credited with saving hundreds of lives during the country's 1994 genocide. His actions inspired the Hollywood film Hotel Rwanda.
U.S. officials say Rusesabagina was released from prison shortly before midnight Friday and was taken to the residence of the Qatari ambassador in Kigali. They say he will likely stay there a couple of days before flying to Qatar, which helped to broker his release.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken issued a statement welcoming the release.
'It is a relief to know that Paul is rejoining his family, and the U.S. government is grateful to the Rwandan government for making this reunion possible,' Blinken said.
'We also thank the government of Qatar for their valuable assistance that will enable Paul's return to the United States,' he added.
Earlier Friday, the Rwandan Ministry of Justice said in a statement that the sentences for several individuals, including Rusesabagina, 'have been commuted by presidential order after consideration of their requests for clemency.'
The 68-year-old Rwandan hotelier-turned-dissident had been jailed in Rwanda since August 2020, when a plane he believed was headed for Burundi instead landed in Kigali.
After he left the plane, he was tried and convicted on a number of terrorism-related charges the following year, over his ties to an organization opposed to President Paul Kagame's rule.
Rusesabagina, who denied the charges, was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
In his statement Friday, Blinken said there is 'no place for political violence' in Rwanda and did not back Rwanda's accusations that Rusesabagina had engaged in such violence.
'The United States believes in a Rwanda that is peaceful and prosperous,' he said.
Rusesabagina has U.S. permanent residency rights, and the U.S. government had described him as 'wrongly detained,' in part because of what it called the lack of fair trial guarantees.
Senior U.S. administration officials said White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan held a series of phone calls with a close adviser to Kagame to petition for Rusesabagina's release.
The United States has traditionally had close ties with Rwanda, but they have been strained by the case against Rusesabagina.
Stephanie Nyombayire, a spokesperson for Kagame, tweeted Friday the release was 'the result of a shared desire to reset US-Rwanda relationship.'
Some information in this report came from The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse.
Get a daily dose of Mexico Star news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Mexico Star.
More InformationDUBLIN, Ireland: The Government of Ireland is preparing legislation to outlaw vaping, and the sale of vaping products, to those ...
Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India] June 1 (ANI): Playback singer and dubbing artist Chinmayi Sripaada has raised her voice against lyricist ...
Imphal (Manipur) [India], June 1 (ANI): On the last day of his four-day visit to Manipur, Union Home Minister Amit ...
Cape Town [South Africa], June 1 (ANI): External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar on Thursday said that the BRICS nations ...
Guwahati (Assam) [India], June 1 (ANI):To mark the completion of 9 years of the Modi government and to make preparations ...
By Dr Amjad Ayub MirzaSrinagar (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], June 1 (ANI): The three-day session of the G-20 Tourism Working ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency has announced that 2nd Lt. James Litherland of South Williamsport, Pennsylvania, an Army ...
DHAKA, Bangladesh - The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has filed a case against 13 members of Grameen Telecom's board of directors, ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: The U.S. Commerce Department has said that trade ministers from 14 countries have taken part in the US-led ...
LOUISVILLE, Kentucky: Two horses that succumbed to their injuries at Churchill Downs have become the 11th and 12th fatalities over ...
FREMONT, California: Brain implant company Neuralink announced that it has received approval from US regulators to begin human brain implant ...
JEFFERSONVILLE, Indiana: Randy Lankford, owner of Lankford Funeral Home and Family Center in Jeffersonville, Indiana, has pleaded guilty to more ...