The government of Rwanda admitted on Friday to having "
facilitated
" the trip to Kigali, where he was arrested, of the hero of the film "
Hotel Rwanda
", the Minister of Justice specifying in an interview that the authorities had financed this operation.
Read also: How Paul Rusesabagina, hero of the film
Hotel Rwanda
, arrived in Rwanda instead of Burundi
Ex-manager of the Mille Collines hotel in Kigali, Paul Rusesabagina, 66, was made famous by this 2004 film, recounting how he saved more than 1,000 people during the Rwandan genocide.
This moderate Hutu then became a critic of the regime of Rwandan President Paul Kagame.
Living in exile since 1996 in the United States and Belgium, a country from which he obtained nationality, he was arrested at the end of August in Rwanda in troubled circumstances, when a plane descended from Dubai and that he thought to be bound for Burundi.
His lawyers denounce "
a kidnapping
".
"
The government has paid,
" Rwandan Minister of Justice Johnston Busingye said from Kigali in an interview on Al Jazeera's UpFront program, produced in the United States.
"
There is a person who worked for a long time with Mr. Rusesabagina, who had aroused the interest of our criminal investigation department (...) and the payment was intended to facilitate this man's plan to bring Rusesabagina to Rwanda.
», He explained.
“
The government did not play a role in its transportation.
He helped this gentleman who wanted to bring him to Rwanda
”, continued the minister, affirming Rwanda had respected the legality by fooling Paul Rusesabagina.
"
In international law, attracting people to places where they can be brought to justice has happened in many jurisdictions,
" he said.
The identity of the man who deceived the opponent is not given but he is mentioned as a former “
accomplice
”.
On Friday evening, the Rwandan Ministry of Justice confirmed in a statement that Rwanda had "
facilitated the journey
" bringing Paul Rusesabagina to Kigali, saying the arrest was "
legal
" and that "
his rights were never violated
" .
Paul Rusesabagina, whose trial in Kigali began in mid-February, is the target of nine charges, including that of terrorism.
He is notably prosecuted for having supported the National Liberation Front (FLN), a rebel group accused of having carried out deadly attacks in Rwanda in recent years.
In its press release, the Rwandan Ministry of Justice also underlines that a private conversation between the minister and his advisers - transmitted “
inadvertently
” to Al Jazeera according to the channel and broadcast during the program - during which an interception of private correspondence of the detainee, "
does not reflect the position of the government
".
