Paul Rusesabagina, an outspoken critic of Rwanda's President Paul Kagame’s government, was released on Friday from prison where he had been serving a 25-year sentence on terrorism charges.
The release of Mr Rusesabagina, who was celebrated as a hero for his actions during the genocide that engulfed Rwanda in 1994, came about after the Biden administration prodded Kagame’s government, senior US officials told reporters.
After leaving prison, Mr Rusesabagina was taken to the Qatari Embassy in Kigali, the capital.
The officials, who were granted anonymity to discuss the administration’s role, said National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan had made a series of calls leading up to the release.
The US had made it clear to authorities in Kigali that Mr Rusesabagina’s incarceration, which had been condemned by many countries, was a hindrance to relations.
He has denied any wrongdoing.
President Joe Biden applauded Mr Rusesabagina’s release and said in a statement on Friday night that “his family is eager to welcome him back to the United States”.
“I add my gratitude to those across the US government who have worked with the government of Rwanda to achieve today’s happy outcome,” Mr Biden added.
Mr Rusesabagina’s sentence was commuted by presidential order after a request for clemency, government spokeswoman Yolande Makolo said.
Hundreds of other people also had their sentences commuted, including 19 people who were members of the same opposition group to which Mr Rusesabagina belonged, the Justice Ministry said in a statement on Twitter.
“No one should be under any illusion about what this means, as there is consensus that serious crimes were committed, for which they were convicted,” Ms Makolo said. “Under Rwandan law, commutation of sentence does not extinguish the underlying conviction.”
The US government played a “constructive role” in creating conditions for discussions about Rusesabagina’s release, while the state of Qatar provided “facilitation,” she said.
Mr Rusesabagina, 68, had been detained since August 2020, when he “disappeared” after boarding a flight for what he believed was a speaking engagement in Burundi, according to a complaint filed in a Texas federal court. Instead, he was flown to neighbouring Rwanda and arrested on arrival in Kigali.
He was tried on charges that included being a leader of the opposition Rwandan Movement for Democratic Change and its armed wing that carried out attacks in Rwanda in 2018 and 2019, according to Human Rights Watch.
Callixte Nsabimana, a fellow leader of the so-called MCRD/FLN, was among those whose sentences were commuted, Ms Makolo said.
Mr Rusesabagina was portrayed as a saviour in the Oscar-nominated 2004 movie Hotel Rwanda for helping shelter more than 1,200 people from machete-wielding gangs during the genocide that left at least 800,000 people dead.
His family lived in exile in central Texas for several years after leaving Belgium, where he holds citizenship. He repeatedly accused Mr Kagame of political repression and extensive human-rights abuses.
David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
HIJRA
Starring: Lamar Faden, Khairiah Nathmy, Nawaf Al-Dhufairy
Director: Shahad Ameen
Rating: 3/5
Frankenstein in Baghdad
Ahmed Saadawi
Penguin Press
RESULT
Manchester United 1 Brighton and Hove Albion 0
Man United: Dunk (66' og)
Man of the Match: Shane Duffy (Brighton)
MATCH INFO
Burnley 0
Man City 3
Raheem Sterling 35', 49'
Ferran Torres 65'
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Robo-advisers use an online sign-up process to gauge an investor’s risk tolerance by feeding information such as their age, income, saving goals and investment history into an algorithm, which then assigns them an investment portfolio, ranging from more conservative to higher risk ones.
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The specs
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More coverage from the Future Forum
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
First Person
Richard Flanagan
Chatto & Windus
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
AI traffic lights to ease congestion at seven points to Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Street
The seven points are:
Shakhbout bin Sultan Street
Dhafeer Street
Hadbat Al Ghubainah Street (outbound)
Salama bint Butti Street
Al Dhafra Street
Rabdan Street
Umm Yifina Street exit (inbound)
PSG's line up
GK: Alphonse Areola (youth academy)
Defence - RB: Dani Alves (free transfer); CB: Marquinhos (€31.4 million); CB: Thiago Silva (€42m); LB: Layvin Kurzawa (€23m)
Midfield - Angel di Maria (€47m); Adrien Rabiot (youth academy); Marco Verratti (€12m)
Forwards - Neymar (€222m); Edinson Cavani (€63m); Kylian Mbappe (initial: loan; to buy: €180m)
Total cost: €440.4m (€620.4m if Mbappe makes permanent move)
The%20specs
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Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
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Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
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Price: On request
MATCH INFO
Euro 2020 qualifier
Norway v Spain, Saturday, 10.45pm, UAE
List of officials:
Referees: Chris Broad, David Boon, Jeff Crowe, Andy Pycroft, Ranjan Madugalle and Richie Richardson.
Umpires: Aleem Dar, Kumara Dharmasena, Marais Erasmus, Chris Gaffaney, Ian Gould, Richard Illingworth, Richard Kettleborough, Nigel Llong, Bruce Oxenford, Ruchira Palliyaguruge, Sundaram Ravi, Paul Reiffel, Rod Tucker, Michael Gough, Joel Wilson and Paul Wilson.
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
What sanctions would be reimposed?
Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:
- An arms embargo
- A ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing
- A ban on launches and other activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as ballistic missile technology transfer and technical assistance
- A targeted global asset freeze and travel ban on Iranian individuals and entities
- Authorisation for countries to inspect Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines cargoes for banned goods
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
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EPL's youngest
- Ethan Nwaneri (Arsenal)
15 years, 181 days old
- Max Dowman (Arsenal)
15 years, 235 days old
- Jeremy Monga (Leicester)
15 years, 271 days old
- Harvey Elliott (Fulham)
16 years, 30 days old
- Matthew Briggs (Fulham)
16 years, 68 days old
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
A Long Way Home by Peter Carey
Faber & Faber
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
