USA: The man who served as the model for the movie "Hotel Rwanda" and was released from prison last week after serving a terrorism sentence returned to the United States on Wednesday to reunite with his family.

Paul Rusesabagina's daughter Carine Kanimba tweeted that "our family is finally reunited today," announcing his arrival in San Antonio.
In a tweet, Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser for the White House, wrote, "We're glad to have him back on US soil."

According to a source with knowledge of the situation who spoke anonymously to discuss internal planning, Rusesabagina's plane landed in Houston before travelling to a military hospital in San Antonio.

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Over 1,000 ethnic Tutsis were sheltered by Rusesabagina, a Belgian citizen and legal resident of the US, in the hotel he oversaw during the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, which resulted in the deaths of over 800,000 Tutsis and Hutus who attempted to defend them. For his efforts, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by the US.

During a trip to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates in 2020, Rusesabagina vanished. She later reappeared in handcuffs in Rwanda. His family claimed he was abducted and taken against his will to Rwanda to face trial.

He was found guilty in Rwanda in 2021 of eight counts, including membership in a terrorist organisation, murder, and kidnapping. His sentence was 25 years in prison.

Following diplomatic intervention on his behalf by the US, Rwanda's government commuted his sentence last week. Rusesabagina was in Doha, Qatar, on Monday, according to John Kirby, a spokesman for the White House National Security Council, and he was on his way back to the US.

Rusesabagina was charged with endorsing the Rwandan Movement for Democratic Change's armed wing, his political rivalry. Nine Rwandans were killed in attacks in southern Rwanda in 2018 and 2019 for which the armed group took some responsibility.

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Rusesabagina testified during the trial that he assisted in the formation of the armed group to aid refugees, but he insisted he never supported violence and worked to keep a distance from its deadly attacks.

Rusesabagina claims that his arrest was in retaliation for him criticising longtime leader Paul Kagame for alleged violations of human rights. Kagame's administration has denied repeatedly accusing dissenting voices of being the target of extrajudicial killings and arrests.

After publicly criticising Kagame, Rusesabagina left Rwanda in 1996 and later settled in Belgium and the US.

At a time when Rwanda's government has also been under pressure due to hostilities with the neighbouring Congo and Britain's plan to deport asylum-seekers to the small east African country, his arrest was a source of contention with the US and others.

The Rwandan government had been urged to release him by rights activists and others due to his deteriorating health. In a letter to Kagame published in October that was posted on the website of the justice ministry, the ailing Rusesabagina promised to put any questions about Rwandan politics behind him if he were given a pardon and allowed to live in the US.

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Kagame and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke about the situation last year during a meeting in Rwanda. According to Kirby, a spokesman for the White House National Security Council, Sullivan took on the case personally, "really doing the final heavy lifting to get Paul released and on his way home."