From a high-profile hero to a criminal convicted of involvement in terrorism, overnight, Paul Ruse Sabbagina's identity took a 180-degree turn.
According to Reuters, on September 20, local time, a Rwandan court found Paul Ruse Sabagina, the protagonist of the movie "Hotel Rwanda", guilty of terrorism.
As a political dissident to Rwandan President Kagame, Ruse Sabagina has been dying abroad. Since his arrest last August, Ruse Sabbagina has been in prison for more than a year, during which time he has said he "does not expect justice."
Ruse Sabajina's family and supporters believe the trial was politicized and unfair. Now Ruse Sabajina's daughter (niece, later adopted) is on the run for the outcome of her trial, hoping that the international community will put pressure on the Rwandan government to release Ruse Sabajina.
9 counts, 25 years in prison
The verdict revolves around Ruse Sabajina's relationship to terrorist activities.
Judge Beatrice Mukamurenzi said in his judgment that the armed group National Liberation Front carried out terrorist attacks on Rwandan civilians, including killings, robberies and arson, and that 20 defendants, including Ruse Sabagina, should be identified as members of the National Liberation Front.
In addition, in a 2018 video, Ruse Sabbagina once said, "Now we should use every possible means to change Rwanda." Muka Mulenzi pointed out that this is also one of the evidences that convicted him.
According to Bloomberg, Ruce Sabajina was tried alongside other defendants and charged with a total of 9 counts, including the establishment of illegal armed groups, the financing of terrorist activities, and the commission of terrorist acts such as homicide, arson, and kidnapping, and was sentenced to 25 years in prison. But Ruse Sabbajina himself has denied any wrongdoing.
"He (Ruse Sabagina) is 67 years old, and for him to 25 years in prison, it's basically the death penalty." Russei Sabagina's daughter told the BBC.
The "hero" in Hotel Rwanda was sentenced to 25 years in prison on terrorism charges. Social media screenshots
"This verdict brings to an end to an extraordinary chapter in Ruse Sabagina's life." The Washington Post wrote an article to comment.
More than his political activist and critic of Rwandan President Kagame, Ruce Sabagina is better known for being the protagonist of the movie "Hotel Rwanda".
"Hotel Rwanda", allegedly based on his experiences, tells the story of the hotel manager's protagonist (prototyped Ruce Sabagina) during the 1994 Rwandan genocide who helped protect more than 1,200 people from being killed, and the film has been nominated for several Oscars and Golden Globes.
In 2005, Russé Sabbagina was also awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by then-U.S. President George W. Bush, the highest U.S. honor awarded to civilians.
However, this "heroic deed" of Ruce Sabbagina is also controversial. Xinhua pointed out that the authenticity of Ruse Sabagina's experience has been widely questioned in Rwanda, and holocaust survivors believe that the content is untrue.
The political wrangling behind the trial
In addition to the attention paid to Ruce Sabakina's "hero" identity, it is also worth mentioning the political struggle behind this case.
A critic of Rwandan President Kagame, Ruse Sabajina, who has long lived abroad, has also described himself as a potential political challenger to Kagame. His family said the trial was a hoax, and Ruse Sabajina had been tricked into boarding a plane before being forcibly taken to Rwanda for trial.
Lawyer Ruse Sabbagina argued that the trial was intended to rationalize the detention of Kagame's critics. Russa Sabajina's supporters also accused the trial of unfairness.
In their description, the main purpose of the trial seems to be to "exclude dissidents." However, the case is clearly more complex.
"It's all about politics." International response to the verdict of Ruse Sabbagina. Social media screenshots
Phil Clark, a professor of international politics at the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London, said the international media had always sided with Ruse Sabagina, while most Rwandan media supported Kagame, but the situation was more complicated than the media described.
Clark, who has been at trial several times in Kigali, believes that the Rwandan government may have gone too far in describing Ruce Sabajina as a mastermind of terrorist activities. However, prosecutors did present sufficient evidence to prove that Ruse Sabajina funded the National Liberation Front. "Therefore, the present case cannot simply be described as the unjust arrest and prosecution by the Government of the heroes of the Hotel Rwanda."
The BBC pointed out that in fact, there are many well-known people who disagree with Kagame in exile, but the Rwandan government has never managed to attract any of them back to their home countries and try them on terrorism charges, which also reflects the special nature of the Ruce Sabajina case to some extent.
After the verdict came out, lawyer Russei Sabbagina said rwanda had an appeal process and that they were trying other legal avenues.
Ruce Sabajina's daughter is also campaigning for it, trying to draw the attention of the international community to the case, thereby pressuring the Rwandan Government to release Ruce Sabajina.
Ruce Sabagina, who also has Belgian citizenship and a U.S. green card, has also raised concerns in both countries. The Belgian Minister for Foreign Affairs stated that Belgium's repeated appeals on the matter and the fact that the principle of presumption of innocence had not been respected at trial had led to doubts about the verdict and that the Belgian Foreign Minister would hold talks with the Rwandan Foreign Minister to discuss the matter during the United Nations General Assembly.
U.S. State Department spokesman Price also said in a statement that Ruse Sabajina had no secret and unhindered access to his lawyers and related case documents, and that the lack of fairness in the trial raised questions about the fairness of the verdict. The U.S. side urges the Rwandan government to take steps to re-examine the flaws in the case.
Beijing News reporter Luan Ruoxi
Trainee Editor Liu Xixian Proofreader Li Lijun