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Rwanda Hotel Hero, a prominent critic of the president, sentenced to 25 years in prison for "terrorism"

A Rwandan court has sentenced Paul Rosesbagina to life in prison, saving the lives of 1,200 people during the country's genocide.

He flatly denies the allegations against him, and his supporters claim the entire trial is a "scam"

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• Rwanda

• Genocide

• terrorism

Reuters

Monday, 20 September 2021, 20:20 Updated: 20:29

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A Rwandan court today (Monday) sentenced Paul Rosesbagina to 25 years in prison, saving the lives of 1,200 people during the country's genocide in 1994 and was described in the film "Rwanda Hotel" after he was convicted of terrorism-related charges.

Rozsbagina, 67, who has gained international acclaim for describing his actions in the successful film, has denied all charges against him and claimed he was abducted in Dubai during the year to put him on trial.

Rosesbagina, a prominent critic of President Paul Kagame, has lived in exile since 1996. His supporters called the trial a "scam" and claimed the president had a history of cruel treatment of his political rivals.

More on Walla!

The hero of the "Rwanda Hotel" was arrested by the authorities on terrorism charges

To the full article

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Argues for political persecution.

President Bush wears presidential medal around Rosesbagen's neck (Photo: AP)

The prosecution sought to impose a life sentence on Rosesbagina, accusing him of nine charges, including terrorism, arson, taking hostages and setting up an armed rebel group he allegedly led from abroad. Rosesbagina admitted that he was a member of the Rwandan Democratic Movement To Kagame's rule - but denied responsibility for the violence perpetrated by the movement's armed arm - the "National Liberation Front

". She said her father was offered many positions in the government, but he rejected the proposals due to his opposition to President Kagame and his denial of other victims of the genocide.

"Because my father was not afraid to tell the truth, the Rwandan government followed him and defined him as an enemy because he was not willing to cooperate with her," Knimba described.

"Since then they have tried to kill him, to silence him. They broke into our house in Brussels, moved and destroyed things just to scare us for years."

Kidnapped by Rwandan authorities from Dubai.

Paul Rosesbegina on the day of his arrest (Photo: AP)

In recent years, however, there have been claims by survivors of the genocide that Rosesbgina was not the protagonist featured in the film.

Some accused him of collecting refugee payments and disposing of those who could not afford it.

His daughter claims that this is part of a defamation campaign and that the regime paid people to be accused of lying.

"My sister's godfather, who was my father's best friend, was staying with his family at the hotel at the time of the incident. After the film came out, they were threatened and forced to say publicly that it never happened even though my father saved their lives."

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