Rwanda: the verdict of the trial of Paul Rusesabagina postponed to September 20

Paul Rusesabagina upon his arrival at the Kigali court on October 2, 2020. Simon Wohlfahrt AFP / Archivos

Text by: RFI Follow

3 min

The verdict in the trial of the man whose story inspired the Hollywood film

Hotel Rwanda

 has been pushed back.

Known for having saved the lives of a thousand people during the Tutsi genocide in 1994, Paul Rusesabagina then left the country before going into opposition to Paul Kagame.

A year ago, he was arrested, kidnapped even according to his relatives, and brought back to Kigali where he has since been tried for terrorism.

The long-awaited verdict was scheduled for Thursday, August 19, but it was postponed to September 20.

Advertising

Read more

With our correspondent in Kigali,

Laure Broulard

The verdict of the trial was postponed for a month because of the large volume of the case, Rwandan justice said. A month's delay therefore before being fixed on the fate of

Paul Rusesabagina

, who faces life imprisonment, and his 20 co-defendants. They are all suspected of being linked to the FLN, an armed group that claimed responsibility for attacks in southern Rwanda in 2018. It is considered the armed wing of the MRCD, Paul Rusesabagina's opposition platform. 

Since the start of this long-running trial, which includes some fifty civil parties and more than 10,000 pages of documents, the opponent's relatives have denounced a parody of justice and called for his release.

Belgium and the European Parliament have also expressed concerns about the conditions of his arrest and the fairness of the trial.   

Not a fair trial, according to Rusesabagina

Paul Rusesabagina, denied any involvement in the attacks that killed dozens in Rwanda, according to the authorities. 

In March, he stopped attending the hearings, believing he would not get a fair trial.

For months, his lawyers have assured in any case that the Rwandan authorities are preventing the defense from bringing him documents concerning the procedure.

►Also read: Rwanda: from Hollywood hero to prisoner accused of terrorism, the fall of Paul Rusesabagina

Newsletter

Receive all international news directly in your mailbox

I subscribe

Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application

google-play-badge_FR

• Rwanda

• Justice