Rusesabagina was released early on Friday under pressure from the United States and Qatar. Reportedly to Reuters news agency, he was escorted from prison to the Qatari ambassador's residence by a U.S. diplomat. He is expected to travel to Qatar in a few days and from there on to the United States where he has permanent residency.
"It is a relief that Paul can be reunited with his family and the United States government is grateful that Rwanda made it possible," U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a written statement.
Another 18 people were released at the same time as Rusesabagina.
The luxury hotel became a salvation
The 68-year-old was the director of a luxury hotel in the capital Kigali when Hutu extremists launched a genocide of the Tutsi people in April 1994. He had the escapees hide in the hotel, thus saving their lives.
The effort later became world famous through the film "Hotel Rwanda", and Rusesabagina was awarded the US President's Medal of Freedom in 2005.
In Rwanda, the genocide was stopped after a few months by the Tutsi militia RPF. Guerrilla leader Paul Kagame has since been the country's president.
Criticized the government
Over time, Rusesabagina became an increasingly outspoken critic of Kagame and his government, whose rule has become more authoritarian over time. From his exile in Belgium, he participated in the founding of the opposition MRCD party, and in 2018 he said in a high-profile Youtube video that "the time has come to use all the means at his disposal to achieve change in Rwanda".
In 2020, he suddenly appeared in Kigali, according to his own statement after being abducted in Dubai. The following year, he was sentenced to 25 years in prison for association with the MRCD's armed wing FLN.
"I regret that I have not done more to ensure that members of the MRCD coalition fully adhere to the principle of non-violence," he wrote, according to Reuters, in a letter to Kagame released on Friday. In the letter, he also writes that he will spend the rest of his life in the United States "in quiet contemplation" if he is pardoned.