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| - Belgium expressed concern Monday that Paul Rusesabagina, who inspired the movie "Hotel Rwanda" for what many saw as his heroism during the 1994 genocide, may not receive a fair trial in Kigali. Rusesabagina has been charged with nine offences, including terrorism, for starting a group that is accused of staging deadly attacks within Rwanda in recent years. The 66-year-old, who had been living in exile in Belgium, was arrested in August, after being tricked into getting onto a plane to Kigali when he thought he was going to Burundi. "Belgium expects its citizen to receive a fair, equitable and transparent trial," Foreign Minister Sophie Wilmes said in a statement after a meeting with her Rwandan counterpart Vincent Biruta. Wilmes "expressed her concern that Mr Rusesabagina was clearly unable to prepare his defence properly, particularly in view of the time he was given and the fact that the confidentiality of documents exchanged with his lawyers was not respected." Wilmes also requested that Rusesabagina be allowed to meet with his Belgian lawyer in relation to a complaint over the affair in Belgium. In December, Rusesabagina's Brussels lawyer, Vincent Lurquin, told AFP he was denied access to his client, who he said was the victim of a "kidnapping by deception" by the Rwandan authorities working through a Burundian pastor. Rusesabagina's family insist his rights have been trampled and he is not being afforded a fair trial, as he has been denied access to attorneys of his choosing, and has not been given access to over 5,000 pages of documents in his case file. He is being tried alongside 20 others, who have all pleaded guilty and incriminated him. Rusesabagina is credited with sheltering hundreds of Rwandans inside a hotel he managed during the 1994 genocide, in which 800,000 mostly Tutsis but also moderate Hutus were slaughtered. But, in the years after Hollywood made him an international celebrity, a more complex image emerged of a staunch government critic, whose tirades against President Paul Kagame's regime led him to be treated as an enemy of the state. Kagame has been in power since 1994 and is accused by critics of crushing opponents and ruling through fear. Rusesabagina's detractors claim he embellished his heroics, while some survivors' groups accused him of profiting from their misery. Rusesabagina has admitted to helping form the National Liberation Front (FLN), but denied any role in its alleged crimes. Rwandan authorities blamed the FLN for a series of deadly attacks in 2018. mad/arp/dc/lc
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