Tell Congress: Help Free "Hotel Rwanda" Hero Paul Rusesabagina
Your assistance is desperately needed to help bring an international hero home to his family. We need you to write your U.S. representative and ask them to cosponsor House Resolution 892 to release Paul immediately.
Paul Rusesabagina is an internationally revered humanitarian hero whose brave actions saved 1,268 people during the Rwandan Genocide, a story that was later depicted in the movie "Hotel Rwanda." He is a Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient, a devoted advocate for peace and human rights, and a passionate critic of authoritarianism. In August 2020, Paul was kidnapped, blindfolded, tied up, and illegally taken across borders to Rwanda, where he has been detained on false charges ever since.
The resolution builds upon a previous bipartisan effort by Congress taken on December 18, 2020, to urge Rwandan President Paul Kagame to return Mr. Rusesabagina to the United States, as well as express grave concern with the way the Government of Rwanda extrajudicially transferred him from the United Arab Emirates to Rwanda, immediately placed him in solitary confinement, and charged him with multiple crimes.
Summary of the Resolution:
• Calls on the Government of Rwanda to immediately release Paul Rusesabagina on humanitarian grounds and permit him to return safely to the United States;
• Calls on the Government of Rwanda to ensure Paul Rusesabagina receives access to appropriate, qualified medical professionals and all medical care necessary to guarantee his physical integrity and psychological well-being;
• Urges the United States Government in all interactions with the Government of Rwanda to raise the case of Paul Rusesabagina and to press for his immediate release on humanitarian grounds; and
• Expresses support to the family of Paul Rusesabagina and their commitment to bringing Paul Rusesabagina home.
“Mr. Paul Rusesabagina has been unfairly targeted and imprisoned for using his elevated platform and prominence to oppose an oppressive Rwandan government,” said Rep. Castro. “The unjustifiable human rights abuses against Mr. Rusesabagina are nefarious and deeply rooted in corruption. His chronic medical conditions severely compromise his health and require close monitoring, which presents an even graver threat amid the COVID-19 pandemic. President Kagame and the Republic of Rwanda must immediately release Mr. Rusesabagina on humanitarian grounds and return him home to his family in San Antonio, Texas."
If you live in the United States, please fill in your address to send an email to your U.S. representative to co-sponsor House Resolution 892.
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