Paul Rusesabagina, portrayed as a hero in a Hollywood movie about Rwanda's 1994 genocide, sits inside a courtroom in Kigali, Rwanda February 26, 2021.Paul Rusesabagina, portrayed as a hero in a Hollywood movie about Rwanda's 1994 genocide, sits inside a courtroom in Kigali, Rwanda February 26, 2021.
Rusesabagina, 67, was convicted in September on eight terrorism charges related to the activities of an organisation opposed to President Paul Kagame’s rule, and is being held in a Rwandan prison. He was not in court in Kigali on Monday to hear the decision from judge Emmanuel Kamere, who said there was no reason to extend his sentence.Rusesabagina has acknowledged having a leadership role in the Rwanda Movement for Democratic Change , but denied responsibility for attacks carried out by its armed wing, the National Liberation Front . The trial judges said the two groups were indistinguishable.