Paul Rusesabagina, a 68-year-old Belgian citizen, was released from prison in Rwanda after more than 900 days behind bars. His imprisonment sparked criticism in the West and among rights groups, and highlighted Rwanda's record of crushing political dissent and free speech under President Paul Kagame. Rusesabagina was jailed after he was found to have backed an armed rebel group in a trial that his supporters denounced as a sham. His sentence was "commuted by presidential order", as were the prison terms of 19 co-defendants convicted alongside him. Shortly before midnight on Friday, Rusesabagina arrived at the Qatari ambassador's residence in Kigali, and will likely stay there for "a couple of days" before flying to Qatar, which helped broker his release. Rwanda praised the role of both the United States and Qatar in resolving the case, after Kagame held talks in Doha earlier this month.

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