From his cell in Kigali, the Rwandan opponent Paul Rusesabagina testifies
Rwandan opponent Paul Rusesabagina in Kigali on September 14, 2020. AFP / Stringer
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2 min
Former owner of the Thousand Hills Hotel, Paul Rusesabagina, who rescued more than 1,200 people sheltered in his hotel during the genocide in Rwanda in 1994, testified to the New York Times from his cell in Kigali.
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Its story inspired the film "Hotel Rwanda".
While in Dubai on August 26, he disappeared before reappearing in Kigali on August 31 ...
under arrest
.
The NGO Human Rights Watch had denounced a "
forced disappearance
".
Journalists from the
New York Times
were able to meet with the man who has become a political opponent of President
Paul Kagame
.
In his “
Spartan
”
cell
, according to
NYT
reporters
, Paul Rusesabagina calmly recounted what happened to him and how he was arrested.
Under the surveillance of two police officers, he describes in the American daily having left the United States, where he lives, to go to Burundi.
He claims to have been invited by a local pastor to give a series of speeches.
For years in the sights of the Rwandan authorities
According to Rwandan officials his aim was actually to meet armed groups.
"
How I got here, that's what is rather surprising
", he said before explaining that during his stopover in Dubai, he was boarded in a private jet with which he thought to go to Bujumbura, in Burundi.
But the plane, operated by a Greek company and frequently used by President Paul Kagame, actually lands in Kigali.
Paul Rusesabagina therefore confirms to have fallen into a trap.
He has been in
the crosshairs of the Rwandan authorities for years
.
His party, the Rwandan Movement for Democratic Change is accused of having an armed wing: the National Liberation Front, a group considered terrorist by those in power.
On Monday September 14, he was charged with terrorism, murder and financing of rebellion by a court in Kigali.
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