Rwanda: the prosecution appeals the conviction of Paul Rusesabagina, hero of "Hotel Rwanda"

Rwandan opponent Paul Rusesabagina was made famous by the Hollywood film Hotel Rwanda.

He was sentenced on September 20 to 25 years in prison.

NICOLAS MAETERLINCK BELGA / AFP / File

Text by: RFI Follow

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In Rwanda, the Rwandan prosecution announced on October 20 that it had appealed in the Paul Rusesabagina case.

The opponent, made famous by the Hollywood film "Hotel Rwanda", was sentenced on September 20 to 25 years in prison for terrorism, at the end of a trial in which he appeared alongside about twenty co-defendants.

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With our correspondent in Kigali

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It was in a tweet that the prosecutor's office announced this Wednesday evening that it had appealed the various verdicts of the judges in

, an armed group accused of several attacks in southern Rwanda in 2018 and 2019. In Indeed, the court had pronounced sentences lower than the requisitions of the prosecutor for the twenty defendants.

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For example, life imprisonment was required against Paul Rusesabagina and he was finally sentenced to 25 years in prison, found guilty of being a member of a terrorist organization and of having committed terrorist acts.

At the end of the verdict, the prosecutor's office had therefore expressed its disappointment to the press.

There are no further details for the moment from the prosecution.

For her part, Carine Kanimba, the adopted daughter of Paul Rusesabagina, assured RFI this evening that he has not appealed against his conviction.

He boycotted most of the hearings, believing that he did not benefit from a fair trial.

Belgium and the United States had also expressed concerns about the fairness of the proceedings.

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