Rwanda: Opposition leader Paul Rusesabagina arrived in Qatar, before returning to the United States

Paul Rusesabagina at the court in Kigali, February 26, 2021. AP - Muhizi Olivier

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Pardoned Friday, March 24 and released in the aftermath, the Rwandan opponent Paul Rusesabagina, made famous by the film Hotel Rwanda, left Rwandan territory after several days spent in the residence of the Qatari ambassador in Kigali. Qatari authorities announced on Tuesday (March 28th) that he landed in the capital Doha on Monday, a first stop before being reunited with his relatives in the United States, two and a half years after his arrest by Rwandan authorities.

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With our correspondent in Kigali, Lucie Mouillaud

Paul Rusesabagina has arrived in Doha, and is waiting to fly to join his family in the city of Houston in the United States, Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Dr. Majed Al Ansari said at a press conference on Tuesday. A stopover planned in the discussions between Kigali and Washington that led to the release, last Friday, of the opponent.

Negotiations between the two countries had been facilitated for several months by the emirate of Qatar, Rwanda's major economic partner, and where President Paul Kagame had visited a few days before the announcement of the commutation of Paul Rusesabagina and his co-accused.

The arrest in 2020, then the conviction in September 2021 of the Rwando-Belgian opponent, a permanent resident in the United States, had been a source of tension with Washington for nearly two and a half years, which considered that he was "wrongly detained". On Friday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he was "relieved" that Paul Rusesabagina would soon be joining his family.

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• Rwanda
• Qatar
• United States
• Diplomacy