Rusesabagina, who once called for armed resistance to the government in a YouTube video, was charged in a Kigali court on Monday with 13 counts including terrorism, complicity in murder and forming or joining an irregular armed group.
His case has thrust a spotlight on to President Paul Kagame's government, which stands accused by rights groups of stifling dissent."This is not a political case... you cannot exercise your freedom of expression and political rights by killing people, by looting their property, by taking hostages," he said.
His family has also accused the Rwandan government of kidnapping him from Dubai, where he was on a trip, a claim that officials in Kigali also reject.