“We’ve made it clear there isn’t anybody going to come from anywhere to bully us into something to do with our lives and works,” Kagame said during an interview at the Summit. “And maybe make an invasion and overrun the country. You can do that.”
Paul Rusesabagina is the inspiration behind the award-winning movie, “Hotel Rwanda.” He was a direct political opponent of the president and famously used his hotel to shelter 1,268 people, mostly Tutsis, who had been facing persecution under Hutus power. He became a global hero for his efforts and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from George W. Bush in 2005.
Despite his fame, Rusesabagina was arrested in August 2020, by Rwandan authorities while supposedly boarding a flight country neighboring Rwanda. In September 2020 he was convicted of leading a terrorist group responsible for attacks against Rwanda and sentenced to 25 years in prison.
Since then, there has been pressure from the U.S. government to release Rusesabagina. U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken has stated that Rusesabagina is a lawful permanent U.S. resident who wasn’t granted a fair trial. “We continue to urge the government to address our concerns about the legal protections afforded to him in his case and establish safeguards to prevent similar outcomes in the future,” Blinken said.
However, Rwandan’s Foreign Minister Vincent Biruta has countered that Rusesabagina is a Rwandan citizen and his conviction was “Therefore, Rwanda will continue to abide by our rules and the decisions that were made by our judiciary,” Biruta said. “And we request our partners to respect Rwanda’s sovereignty, Rwanda’s laws, and its institutions. That’s what I can state about your question on Rusesabagina.” lawful under Rwandan and international laws, with 20 co-defendants also found guilty.