Hollywood was inspired by Paul Russsabagina, who saved more than a thousand lives during the 1994 Rwandan genocide, but the man with calm features went from being famous to convicted on "terrorism" charges in his country.

The Rwandan government announced on Friday that it had "commuted" his 25-year prison sentence in September 2021, released him and transferred him to Qatar before heading to the United States, according to a US official.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken welcomed the release of Russbagina by the Rwandan government, expressed gratitude to the Rwandan government and praised the efforts of the government of Qatar.

"Hotel Rwanda," released in 2004, tells how the Hutu man saved more than a thousand people during the 1994 genocide that left 800,<> mostly Tutsis dead when he was the manager of the Hotel De Mille Colin in Kigali.

His character was portrayed by American actor Don Cheadle in the film, which portrayed him as selfless, gentle in speech, and is also a fierce critic of Rwandan President Paul Kagame.

The 68-year-old man reappeared in Rwanda in August 2020, after nearly 25 years in exile, but appeared home wearing a prisoner's suit and handcuffed, after being "kidnapped", he said.

Russbagina has been accused of masterminding the attacks that the rebel FLN is accused of carrying out between 2018 and 2019, which he and his family deny.

His relatives confirm that he was always the brave, calm and determined man who appeared in the famous Hollywood movie.

Ordinary man

Born in 1954 to a family of farmers in central Rwanda, Paul Russsabagina briefly studied theology, then hospitality in Kenya and Switzerland.

After returning to Rwanda in 1984, he was appointed Deputy General Manager of Kigali's finest hotel, Hôtel de Mille Colin.

When the genocide began in April 1994, hundreds of people, mostly Tutsis, sought refuge in the hotel.

The moderate Hutu married to a Tutsi woman spoke with the killers, calming them by offering them beer bottles, using his prayers to get food, while his "guests" drank water from the pool, and using the hotel's fax to send distress messages to European governments and then-U.S. President Bill Clinton.

American journalist Filip Gurevich who met him described him as "a nice, burly man with an ordinary appearance."

But Paul Russsabagina was disappointed with the new Tutsi-dominated authority, which overthrew the Hutu extremist regime and put an end to the genocide.

Rusisabagina accuses the RPF and its leader, Paul Kagame, of bullying and stoking anti-Hutu sentiment, and left the country in 1996 with his wife and children for Belgium and then the United States.


Fame and criticism

Russsabagina became famous after the 2004 film "Hotel Rwanda," was honored in the United States with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and lectured around the world.

But he was criticized by DeMelle Cullen survivors, who accused him of taking advantage of their plight and exaggerating his role.

As his fame grew, Rusispagina's criticism of Paul Kagame intensified, exposing him to attacks from regime supporters.

He was associated with opposition groups in exile, and in 2017 co-founded the Rwandan Movement for Democratic Change, of which the FLN is the armed wing.

In 2018, he said in a video that "it is time to use all possible means to bring about change in Rwanda, because all political means have been tried and failed."

But he has always denied any involvement in the attacks, for which he was tried.