A federal judge in the United States on Monday, January 23, dismissed a case filed by terror convict Paul Rusesabagina’s family which claimed that he was kidnapped and tortured by Rwandan authorities.
Rusesabagina, leader of the FLN/MRCD terror group, was arrested in 2020 when he willingly boarded a private jet that eventually landed in Kigali leading to his arrest. His terror group was behind the 2018 and 2019 attacks in south-western Rwanda, where at least nine unarmed civilians lost their lives, others were injured and lots of property destroyed or looted.
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Rusesabagina and 20 other members of his terror group were consequently convicted by the High Court Chamber for International and Cross Border Crimes (HCCICC) and sentenced to jail terms ranging from three to 25 years.
But Rusesabagina’s family filed a case in U.S courts claiming that he was kidnapped and tortured.
But U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon, in a 15-page opinion, issued January 23, was unconvinced by the effort.
Leon found the arguments presented by Rusesabagina’s lawyers unpersuasive.
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That treatment, according to Rusesabagina’s attorneys, included a torture-induced confession to terrorism charges for which he’s now serving 25 years.
"Plaintiffs cite no legal authority for the proposition that the court could fashion an exception to this categorical rule,” the judge wrote.
Rusesabagina who was the political head of FLN was convicted by the High Court in Kigali of creating a terror group and committing acts of terrorism, and sentenced to 25 years in prison.
On December 15, 2018, about eight kilometres into Nyungwe National Park, a bus, owned by Alpha Express, was attacked by the FLN, the military wing of Paul Rusesabagina’s MRCD coalition, whose militants had set up roadblocks in the rainforest.
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The FLN assailants also attacked another bus, owned by Omega Express that was bound for Rusizi, from Kigali. The two buses were set on fire. Nine people were killed on spot, and one died of injuries, later.
The Nyungwe incident in Nyamagabe District was one of the attacks by the FLN, which also targeted Nyabimata in Gisagara District, Rusizi District.
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The court ruled in November 2021 that the convicts would pay Rwf412 million in compensation to the survivors and families of the victims.
But the victims have not yet received a penny.