Paul Rusesabagina, who impressed the movie "Lodge Rwanda" and is credited with saving greater than 1,000 individuals by sheltering them on the lodge he managed in the course of the genocide, attends a court docket listening to in Kigali, Rwanda Friday, Feb. 26, 2021. (AP Picture/Muhizi Olivier)
KIGALI --
A Rwandan appeals court docket on Monday upheld a 25-year jail sentence for Paul Rusesabagina, who was portrayed within the film "Lodge Rwanda" sheltering tons of of individuals in the course of the 1994 genocide, rejecting a bid to increase it to life in jail.
Rusesabagina, 67, was convicted in September on eight terrorism costs associated to the actions of a corporation against President Paul Kagame's rule, and is being held in a Rwandan jail.
He has denied all the costs and refused to participate within the trial, which he and his supporters have denounced as a politically motivated sham.
He was not in court docket in Kigali on Monday to listen to the choice from Choose Emmanuel Kamere, who mentioned there was no motive to increase his sentence.
"The 25-year sentence is the same as the severity of the crime he dedicated," Kamere mentioned.
Rusesabagina has acknowledged having a management function within the Rwanda Motion for Democratic Change (MRCD), however denied duty for assaults carried out by its armed wing, the Nationwide Liberation Entrance (FLN). The trial judges mentioned the 2 teams had been indistinguishable.
Prosecutors in February known as the present sentence too lenient, given the gravity of the costs and the impression of the alleged crimes.
"We felt the sentence of Rusesabagina's crimes was life imprisonment. We aren't blissful," prosecutor Bonaventure Ruberwa instructed reporters after the appeals court docket ruling.
Rusesabagina's attorneys mentioned they'd seek the advice of him earlier than responding.
"The trial ought to have by no means occurred within the first place. My father was kidnapped and tortured. Every little thing that occurred afterwards is theater," Rusesabagina's daughter, Carine Kanimba, instructed Reuters.
A authorities spokeswoman was not instantly out there to remark, however Rwanda has firmly dismissed such allegations prior to now.
Rusesabagina's principal co-accused Callixte Nsabimana, also called Sankara, had his sentence lowered from 20 years to fifteen years for his cooperation with authorities.
(Reporting by Clement Uwiringiyimana; writing by Hereward Holland; Modifying by Catherine Evans, Ed Osmond, Bernadette Baum and Sandra Maler)
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