President Biden: Demand the Release of Paul Rusesabagina
President Joe Biden
Tell President Biden: Please Demand the Immediate Release of Hotel Rwanda Hero Paul Rusesabagina
Your assistance is desperately needed to help bring an international hero home to his family.
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 terrorism charges ever since.
Paul has no chance for a fair trial because of the actions of the Rwandan government. He is a victim of arbitrary detention, after being lured to Dubai and then kidnapped and taken to Rwanda. When he arrived, he was tortured for three days in an unknown location and held incommunicado. He had no access to a lawyer of his choosing for over 70 days, and the Rwandan Bar Association recently denied his international lawyers from working on his team. His Rwandan lawyer has only been able to see him six times in the last three months. Rwandan President Paul Kagame pre-judged his guilt in a public press conference.
Most importantly, since Paul is a United States legal and permanent resident and Belgian citizen who did not voluntarily me to Rwanda and no extradition process was followed, any legal proceedings he’s subjected to in Rwanda are illegal from the outset under both international and Rwandan law. But the Rwandan government is ignoring this and attempting to avoid having it come up at a trial.
Rusesabagina’s family is extremely concerned for his well-being and they are pleading with the international community to get involved. “Paul is a cancer survivor and heart patient who requires daily medication.” His family has had limited contact with him since his disappearance, and Paul has been hospitalized at least three times during his detention for unknown reasons. Paul’s blood pressure has reportedly been high for weeks now, and he is suffering from dizziness and headaches.
If you live in the United States, please fill in your address to send an email to President Biden urging him to send a message to Rwandan President Kagame to release Paul Rusesabagina immediately.
For More Information:
To learn more about Paul Rusesabagina, visit the Hotel Rwanda Rusesabagina Foundation
To read the American Bar Association pre-trial report, click here.
Foreign Policy published an article (January 23, 2021) click here.
Petition by
Sponsored by
To:
President Joe Biden
From:
[Your Name]
Mr. President,
I am writing to request that you contact the Rwandan government and President Paul Kagame to urge the immediate release of U.S. resident and U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom honoree Mr. Paul Rusesabagina.
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 and The Lantos Human Rights Prize 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 terrorism charges ever since.
Paul was a regular humanitarian critic of the human rights violations of President Kagame’s regime and is now effectively a political prisoner, held on false charges. Human rights groups around the world have decried his detention and groups like the American Bar Association have reported on all of the illegalities around this that show there is no chance of a “fair” trial for Paul in Rwanda.
What’s more - since Paul is a Belgian citizen and US permanent resident who did not voluntarily come to Rwanda and no extradition process was followed, any legal proceedings he’s subjected to in Rwanda would be illegal. If there is evidence of the charges against him, why did Rwanda not try to extradite Paul from the US or Belgium? The fact that Rwandan resorted to kidnapping Paul speaks volumes for this case.
Rusesabagina’s family is extremely concerned for his well-being and is pleading with the international community to get involved. “Paul is a cancer survivor and heart patient who requires daily medication.” His family has had only limited contact with him since his disappearance. Paul’s blood pressure has reportedly been high for weeks now, and he is suffering from dizziness and headaches. In a recent conversation with his family, he expressed concern that he might have a stroke in prison.
Given your administration’s clear support for international human rights and concerns about governments that violate those rights, I strongly request and urge you to take immediate action to urge President Paul Kagame and his government to free Paul Rusesabagina.
Thank you for your support.