Family of 'Hotel Rwanda' Hero Sues Rwandan Gov’t

The family of Paul Rusesabagina, the man portrayed in the film Hotel Rwanda, announced a $400 million lawsuit in the US this morning over his alleged abduction from Texas and subsequent torture by Rwandan government agents.

🏨 Background: Rusesabagina, 67, is best known for his heroism in 1994 as the manager of the Hôtel des Mille Collines in Rwanda’s capital of Kigali, where he gave safe haven to more than 1,200 people during a genocide that claimed ~800,000 lives; he was later awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George W. Bush.

✈️ The story... In the late 2000s, Rusesabagina and his family moved to San Antonio, TX. But the Rwandan government spent years trailing, spying-on, and harassing him and his family, per their lawyers.

• In August 2020, Rusesabagina was traveling from the US to Burundi for contractual work when he went missing during a layover in Dubai.
• Four days later, the Rwandan government announced they had captured Rusesabagina, who was eventually sentenced to 25 years in prison for terrorism in what his supporters called a sham trial.

🇷🇼 Additional context: Rusesabagina co-founded the opposition Rwandan Movement for Democratic Change, which has an armed wing called the National Liberation Forces that has claimed responsibility for multiple deadly attacks in Rwanda in recent years, per Human Rights Watch.