PRESS RELEASE:
If Paul Rusesabagine Was Home Today, We Would Call 911
Paul Rusesabagina, now imprisoned in Rwanda for 522 days, may be suffering a serious health crisis, but there is no way to know. Rusesabagina is a cancer survivor and heart/hypertension patient who was kidnapped by the Rwandan government in August, 2020. Since that time he was tortured, subjected to almost 250 days in solitary confinement, and put on a sham trial with a verdict of 25 years in one of the worst prison systems in the world.
Last week, Rusesabagina told a Belgian consular officer and his lawyer, as well as his family on their five minute weekly phone call, that he had felt pain in left arm for several days. Yesterday, he told his lawyer that the pain is so severe he thinks his arm may become paralyzed.
This is now a crisis situation. In the United States, if a family member displayed these symptoms you would call 911 or bring them to the emergency room. Severe pain or partial paralysis of the arm is one of the signs of either heart attack or stroke. This is especially true in the case of a 67 year old man with hypertension, living in a very stressful prison environment. Rusesabagina’s doctor in Belgium has warned that Paul is at high stroke risk. Other equally troubling issues, such as a blood clot, are also possible.
Paul Rusesabagina needs treatment now, but he and his family cannot rely on the government that kidnapped and tortured him to provide proper medical caret. Paul’s daughter Anaise Kanimba noted that “our family appreciates the past interventions of both the US and Belgian consular authorities, but more needs to be done.”
It is important to remember that Paul is in the care of prison authorities who don’t let his lawyers show him any documents, and who systematically record all consular and legal visits . In a blatant case recently, Paul and his lawyer had a guard with a cell phone openly taping their conversation, which should be private and confidential. In mid-January prison authorities told American consular officials that Rusesabagina was unwilling to meet with them, and they left without seeing him. Paul was emphatic to his family and lawyer that he never refused a visit, nor would he.
Paul’s daughter Carine stated that “After kidnapping torturing our dad, and hiding him from the public eye, the Rwandan gov is now lying to foreign diplomats who ask to visit dad that he does not want to see them.”
We urge the international community, particularly the United States and Belgium, to intercede now. His family is increasingly concerned that his health may deteriorate quickly in prison. His release on compassionate grounds is now urgent.
Background
In late August of 2020, Paul Rusesabagina, the international human rights icon whose story of saving 1,268 people during the Rwandan Genocide was told in the film Hotel Rwanda, was kidnapped and flown against his will from Dubai, United Arab Emirates to Kigali, Rwanda. He was tortured, held in solitary confinement for months and subjected to a sham trial. It is time for the international community to demand his immediate release.
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