Activists urge release of ‘Hotel Rwanda’ hero Rusesabagina

By RODNEY MUHUMUZA
Associated Press

KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Rights activists and others urged Rwandan authorities to free the man who inspired the film “Hotel Rwanda,” saying his health is failing after an appeals court upheld his 25-year jail term for terror offenses. Paul Rusesabagina, a U.S. resident and Belgian citizen who is credited with sheltering a group of ethnic Tutsi during Rwanda’s 1994 genocide, was convicted in September on charges including membership in a terrorist group, murder and abduction. Some activists who spoke during an online event Wednesday said the U.S. could do more to free the 67-year-old recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. They also appealed to the compassion of Rwandan authorities.