Rwanda Takes Hotelier’s Last Line of Defence

Belgian lawyer for the man whose story inspired the film “Hotel Rwanda”, who is being tried on terrorism charges, has been deported for working without a permit, the head of Rwanda’s immigration service said on Monday. Paul Rusesabagina, the ex-hotelier portrayed as a hero in the 2004 film about Rwanda’s 1994 genocide, is accused of nine terrorism-related charges, including forming and funding an armed rebel group. Vincent Lurquin was deported on Saturday after appearing in court as one of Rusesabagina’s lawyers the previous day despite lacking legal permission to do so, officials said. “He did some work, but he was not authorized to work,” Regis Gatarayiha, director general at the Rwanda Directorate General of Immigration and Emigration, told Reuters. Lurquin was in the country on a visitor’s visa, Gatarayiha said.

SOURCE: REUTERS