World rallies around Paul Rusesabagina ahead of verdict on August 20, 2021

WASHINGTON - Aug. 17, 2021 - PRLog -- More than 6,000 people have signed a petition demanding Secretary of State Antony Blinken step in to help U.S. permanent resident and President Medal of Freedom recipient Paul Rusesabagina. Rusesabagina is on trial in Rwanda on trumped up charges of terrorism, but his true crime is speaking out against President Paul Kagame. Kagame has already sealed his fate by declaring him guilty before the judicial proceedings even began

Almost a year ago, the Hotel Rwanda hero humanitarian was kidnapped, taken to Rwanda, arrested, tortured, and put on trial. From the outset, this "trial" has been widely regarded as a farce by many human rights observers. Even though, President Paul Kagame has already sealed Rusesabagina's fate by calling him guilty before the judicial proceedings even began. Rusesabagina is a Belgian citizen and U.S. permanent legal resident.

According to the American Bar Association and the Clooney Foundation:

"Mr. Rusesabagina has been denied his right to adequately prepare for trial and his right to confidential communication with counsel – potentially to the irreparable detriment of the defense."

"The court protected a key witness by disallowing cross-examination and refusing even to require him to testify on oath. This witness—Bishop Constantin Niyomwungeri, the man who allegedly tricked Mr. Rusesabagina into boarding a flight to Rwanda—was key to the court's finding that Mr. Rusesabagina had been 'lured' not 'kidnapped.' The court's treatment of the witness was contrary to the basic principles of a fair trial, which require that defendants be permitted to examine prosecution witnesses who give evidence against them, and the court should not have denied that right."

"This so-called trial is not a real adversarial proceeding: it has become a spectacle in which the state's version of events is not allowed to be challenged. Any conviction that emerges from it cannot be considered credible as it will be based on evidence that has not been properly examined."

No one thinks this trial is anywhere close to fair. No one expects this verdict to be anything but guilty. No one expects the sentence to be lighter than life in prison.

This is the petition: Tell Secretary Blinken to Call for Release of Paul Rusesabagina - Action Network (https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/tell-secretary-blinke...)