He Was the Hero of âHotel Rwanda.â Now Heâs Accused of Terrorism.
Paul Rusesabagina Detained
He Was the Hero of âHotel Rwanda.â Now Heâs Accused of Terrorism.
Long hailed for his bravery during the 1994 Rwandan genocide, Paul Rusesabagina is now charged with being an insurgent leader. Did Rwanda change, or did he?
Credit...Illustration by Cristiana Couceiro
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Early in the evening of Aug. 27, 2020, Paul Rusesabagina stepped off a flight from Chicago and walked into Terminal 3 at Dubai International Airport. He had been in the air for 14 hours, but his journey wasnât done: Later that night, he planned to travel on to Bujumbura, the main city in the small Central African nation Burundi. Passing through immigration, Rusesabagina â who lived in San Antonio, Texas, but was originally from Rwanda, Burundiâs neighbor â texted his wife to let her know he had arrived in Dubai. âAre you safe?â she wrote back. âIâm fine,â he replied. Then he checked in at a nearby Ibis Styles hotel.