Prosecutors Request Life Sentence for 'Hotel Rwanda' Hero

KIGALI, RWANDA - Rwandan prosecutors on Thursday requested a life sentence for the man who inspired the film Hotel Rwanda as he faces terrorism charges, while his family asserts that he faces mistreatment and an unfair trial.

Paul Rusesabagina, once praised for saving hundreds of ethnic Tutsis from Rwanda's 1994 genocide as a hotel manager, faces charges related to attacks by an armed group inside Rwanda in 2018 and 2019. The nine charges include the formation of an irregular armed group, membership in a terrorist group and financing terrorism. Prosecutors seek to link him to activities that killed at least nine people. Rusesabagina, a Belgian citizen and U.S. resident, has denied the charges, arguing his case is politically motivated in response to his criticism of Rwanda's longtime President Paul Kagame. Rusesabagina alleges that he was abducted last year while visiting Dubai and taken to Rwanda, where he was charged. But a court ruled that he was not kidnapped when he was tricked into boarding a chartered flight. Rwanda's government has asserted that Rusesabagina was going to Burundi to coordinate with armed groups based there and in neighboring Congo.