“
Discussions
” are taking place concerning the imprisonment of a Rwandan opponent who is causing tensions between Washington and Kigali, Rwandan President Paul Kagame announced on Monday March 13.
A virulent critic of the Rwandan government, Paul Rusesabagina has been serving a 25-year prison sentence for “ terrorism
” since last year
.
The Hotel des Milles Collines
This 68-year-old man, who has permanent resident status in the United States, was made famous by the film "
Hotel Rwanda
" which tells how this moderate Hutu who ran the Hotel des Mille Collines in the Rwandan capital saved more than 1000 people during the genocide of the Tutsis in 1994. In May, Washington had considered that he was "
unjustly detained
" by the Rwandan justice.
Paul Kagame had retorted that the United States could not “
intimidate
” him to force him to release him.
In the context of an interview filmed and broadcast during the Global Security Forum (GSEC) in Doha, the Rwandan president affirmed that “
work was in progress
” concerning the imprisonment of Paul Rusesabagina.
“
There are discussions, we wonder about all the possible ways to solve the problem without compromising the fundamental aspects of this case.
I think there will be a way to progress
, ”he said in this video.
Paul Rusesabagina had lived in exile in the United States and Belgium since 1996, before being arrested in Kigali in August 2020 in troubled circumstances, when he got off a plane he thought was bound for Burundi.