He was a hero during the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. In a jailhouse interview there, Paul Rusesabagina spoke about how he was lured back to a country he vowed never to return to — where he'll stand trial for murder, arson and terrorism. nyti.ms/35Qh4SI
As the manager of a five-star hotel where 1,268 people took shelter from the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, Paul Rusesabagina was known for his cool head — a quality that kept the killers at bay, helped ensure his guests survived, and inspired an Oscar-nominated movie, “Hotel Rwanda."
Later, Paul Rusesabagina became the toast of America — feted by Oprah Winfrey, awarded the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom. He earned large fees for speeches about the horrors of genocide.
Now, the celebrity human rights ambassador is a prisoner.
The government of Rwanda, under the firm hand of Paul Kagame, a rebel leader turned president, alleges that Paul Rusesabagina has gone from activist to opponent to supporter of armed struggle.
Experts say his situation is emblematic of Rwanda under the Kagame regime.
The Rwandan government calls him a dangerous subversive who has supported anti-government groups that have launched attacks on Rwanda.
A court in Kigali on Monday brought 13 charges against him, including terrorism, complicity in kidnap and murder and forming a rebel group.
Today, Rwanda is known as an authoritarian state where Paul Kagame exerts total control.
His troops are accused of plunder and massacres in neighboring Congo, and political rivals are imprisoned, subjected to sham trials or die in mysterious circumstances at home and abroad.
That's the situation that Paul Rusesabagina is in now — in a spartan cell in a central police station in Rwanda's capital, where he sleeps in a bed draped in a mosquito net. He spoke in a jailhouse interview under the watchful eye of two Rwandan officials.
“With guns around him, he’s saying that in the belly of the beast,” said his son, Trésor Rusesabagina, 28, speaking from the U.S. “And the beast can bite at any time.”
Read our story on how Paul Rusesabagina became a prisoner of his political nemesis. nyti.ms/35Qh4SI
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