A court ruling in prosecution appealed to increase the 25-year prison sentence against ‘Hotel Rwanda’ “hero” Paul Rusesabagina on terrorism charges.

The Rwandan prosecutor’s office has appealed against the sentences handed to all 21 defendants.

Rusesabagina, a businessman whose role in saving more than 1,000 lives during the 1994 genocide inspired the film Hotel Rwanda, was sentenced to 25 years in prison last year after being convicted of terrorism offenses.

He has been held by the Rwandan government since 2020 when he was duped into boarding a chartered flight from Dubai to Rwanda.

The trial has drawn international condemnation from many human rights activists, who said the charges were largely trumped-up and stem from Rusesabagina’s outspoken criticism of the abuses under Kagame.

Aljazeera.