‘Hotel Rwanda’ Dissident Is Found Guilty of Forming and Funding a Terrorist Group
The New York Times
The trial of Paul Rusesabagina, whose story was portrayed in the Oscar-nominated movie, drew widespread attention and international condemnation.
KIGALI, Rwanda — Paul Rusesabagina, the prominent dissident who was portrayed in the Oscar-nominated movie “Hotel Rwanda,” was found guilty on Monday of forming and funding an armed terrorist group in a monthslong case that drew international condemnation after government officials boasted about having tricked him into returning to Rwanda.
Mr. Rusesabagina was once praised for sheltering more than 1,200 people in the hotel he managed during Rwanda’s 1994 genocide. But he gradually became one of the most high-profile critics of Rwanda’s longtime leader, Paul Kagame, calling out the president for his increasingly repressive rule. Mr. Kagame in turn accused Mr. Rusesabagina of profiting from invented stories about his heroism and of financing armed rebel groups to overthrow his government.
Mr. Rusesabagina was tried on nine charges, including forming an illegal armed group, kidnapping, arson and murder. The court is expected to sentence him later on Monday.
