Rusesabagina, 66, is a founder of the Rwanda Movement for Democratic Change, a coalition of opposition groups, which has an armed wing known as the National Liberation Front. The government accuses the rebel group of killing Rwandans in the country's north.
“Prosecution intends to submit a joint indictment of these 16 defendants together with Paul Rusesabagina. A full list of 16 fighters will be provided,” Prosecutor General Aimable Havugiyaremye told a press conference in the capital, Kigali. “Rusesabagina is a Belgian citizen who was kidnapped and brought to Rwanda illegally. Before anything else happens in his trial, he should be allowed to talk to his independent lawyers that have been hired for him, not the lawyers the government has enforced on him,” Rusesabagina's daughter Carine Kanimba told The Associated Press on Monday.
Human Rights Watch has asserted that Rusesabagina had been “forcibly disappeared,” saying that the lack of lawful extradition proceedings suggests that Rwandan authorities don't believe their evidence would stand up to independent scrutiny.
Gotta love politics. 😒