Lantos Foundation Joins Rusesabagina Family at British House of Lords to Advocate for Magnitsky Sanctions against Rwandan Officials Involved in Kidnapping of Hotel Rwanda Hero

December 2, 2021 – Dr. Katrina Lantos Swett, President of the Lantos Foundation for Human Rights & Justice, appeared with the daughters of Paul Rusesabagina, the hero of Hotel Rwanda currently languishing in a Kigali prison, last week during a meeting at the British House of Lords. The purpose of the meeting, which included a distinguished list of peers, members of British Parliament and high-level representatives from civil society, was to discuss the illegal rendition and arbitrary detention of Paul Rusesabagina, as well as ongoing human rights abuses and violations of his legal rights throughout his more than 450 days of imprisonment.  

Specifically, the meeting participants discussed the potential for using Magnitsky-style sanctions against Rwandan government officials involved in the kidnapping and mistreatment of Mr. Rusesabagina. The Lantos Foundation filed a Magnitsky submission in May 2021, urging the U.S. Departments of State and Treasury to sanction then-Justice Minister Johnston Busingye and head of the Rwanda Investigation Bureau (RIB) Colonel Jeannot Ruhunga. Both individuals have publicly admitted their involvement in the kidnapping and illegal detention of Mr. Rusesabagina. The Lantos Foundation filing requested that the United States apply Magnitsky sanctions – targeted sanctions that can freeze U.S.-based assets and enact visa bans in the case of human rights violations and corruption – against Mr. Busingye and Mr. Ruhunga. 

The U.S. has not yet taken public action to sanction the Rwandan officials named in the Lantos Foundation’s filing, but the question of whether to sanction Mr. Busingye is particularly relevant to the United Kingdom. Rwandan President Paul Kagame abruptly relieved Mr. Busingye of his duties as Justice Minister earlier this year and named him as Rwanda’s high commissioner, or ambassador, to the United Kingdom. At the time, the Lantos Foundation urged the U.K. Government not to accept Mr. Busingye’s credentials and instead to apply Magnitsky sanctions for his clear role in the human rights abuses against Mr. Rusesabagina.  

Three of Paul Rusesabagina’s daughters spoke before the high-level delegation at the House of Lords on Thursday, November 25, to advocate for the United Kingdom to take stronger action to pressure the Rwandan government to release their father. The briefing was chaired by Baroness Helena Kennedy, QC, and was attended by members of both the House of Lords and the British Parliament, including the Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Magnitsky Sanctions, Mr. Chris Bryant MP, and representatives from REDRESS. Bill Browder, head of the Global Magnitsky Justice Campaign and the 2019 Lantos Human Rights Prize laureate, also spoke at the meeting.

In addition to discussing Magnitsky sanctions, the meeting also addressed whether the actions taken by the Rwandan government against Mr. Rusesabagina are incompatible with the values of Commonwealth. As the newest member of the Commonwealth Group (joined in 2009), Rwanda has committed to upholding a wide variety of human rights and protections for all citizens, including those who disagree with the government. Mr. Rusesabagina is one of numerous critics, dissidents and political prisoners who have been arrested, tortured or even killed for the exercise of what is clearly considered free speech in other countries of the Commonwealth and in democracies around the world. The conduct of the Rwandan government in this regard has raised the interest and concern of many in the United Kingdom, particularly with Rwanda due to host the next Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM). 

Background: Paul Rusesabagina, the humanitarian hero whose story was depicted in the film Hotel Rwanda, received the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2005 and was honored in 2011 with the Lantos Human Rights Prize. In late August 2020, he was kidnapped and flown against his will to Kigali, Rwanda. He was imprisoned, tortured and forced to undergo a sham trial that ended in October 2021 with a guilty verdict, at which time he was sentenced to 25 years in prison. A variety of legal organizations, human rights groups and government officials from around the world have decried the illegal rendition and trial, noting that Mr. Rusesabagina’s rights have been violated at virtually every stage. As a 67-year-old man with serious health conditions, his family and other supporters have implored the Rwandan government to release him immediately on humanitarian grounds.

Videos from the meeting in support of Paul Rusesabagina:

Baroness Kennedy, QC

Bill Browder   

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About the Lantos Foundation for Human Rights & Justice: The Lantos Foundation was established in 2008 to carry forward the legacy of Congressman Tom Lantos, the only Holocaust survivor ever elected to the U.S. Congress and a leading human rights champion. The Foundation works with a range of partners and often in cooperation with the U.S. Government on issues that span the globe. The Foundation’s key areas of focus include human rights issues related to religious freedom, rule of law, internet freedom and activist art. The Foundation also administers the Lantos Congressional Fellows Program, supports human rights advocates, activists and artists through its Front Line Fund grant program, and awards the annual Lantos Human Rights Prize to honor and bring attention to heroes of the human rights movement. Past recipients of the Prize include His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Professor Elie Wiesel, the real-life hero of Hotel Rwanda Paul Rusesabagina, Israeli President Shimon Peres, Iraqi Parliamentarian Vian Dakhil, Hong Kong Democracy activist Joshua Wong, Bill Browder, the driving force behind the global Magnitsky movement, among others.