Nineteen others also had their sentences commuted. Under Rwandan law, commutation doesn’t “extinguish” the conviction.
, his limited access to an independent legal team and his reported worsening health drew international concern.
Rusesabagina has asserted that his arrest was in response to his criticism of Kagame over alleged human rights abuses. Kagame’s government has repeatedly denied targeting dissenting voices with arrests and extrajudicial killings. He became a public critic of Kagame and left Rwanda in 1996, first living in Belgium and then the U.S.
Rusesabagina testified at trial that he helped to form the armed group to assist refugees but said he never supported violence — and sought to distance himself from its deadly attacks.
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