By Clement Uwiringiyimana
KIGALI (Reuters) – A Belgian lawyer representing 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.
“He is a lawyer of Rusesabagina in a case in Belgium … [but] to be able to assist him in courts of Rwanda – he is not a lawyer who is accredited by the Rwanda Bar Association,” said Gatarayiha.
Lurquin should have first gotten accreditation from the Rwanda Bar Association and then obtained a permit from Rwanda immigration, which he did not do, Gatarayiha said.
Lurquin and Rusesabagina’s U.S.-based foundation did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
All Rusesabagina’s non-Rwandan lawyers have in the past said that they were denied permits to defend him in Rwandan courts.
The Rwanda Bar Association said Lurquin was not a member of the organization and was not allowed to practice in the country.
Government spokeswoman Yolande Makolo responded to the Association’s statement on Twitter, saying Lurquin’s behaviour was “crooked” and a “desperate” attempt to distract from the facts of the trial.
Prosecutors have requested a life sentence for Rusesabagina, whose family says he is in poor health and being mistreated in prison.
The court is scheduled to issue its verdict on Sept. 20.
(Reporting by Clement Uwiringiyimana; Editing by Ayenat Mersie and Giles Elgood)
