'Hotel Rwanda' film hero Paul Rusesabagina seeks bail

What you need to know:

•He is charged with 13 counts including terrorism, financing terrorism, inciting violence, recruiting child soldiers, kidnap, and arson.
•Rusesabagina told the court he is sick and needs regular medical attention and pledged that he would not flee from justice.
•His family has insisted that Mr Rusesabagina is in court without the lawyers of his own choosing.

Mr Rugaza added "what prosecution considers as serious incriminating evidence against Rusesabagina is simply two documents they found on his computer. These are unsigned documents and there is no evidence that he wrote them."
Mr Rusesabagina also defended himself against the 13 charges he faces and distanced himself from activities of the eastern DR Congo-based rebel group Force de Liberation Nationale (FLN) that claimed previous attacks against Rwanda.
“I am not the leader of FLN. They are the ones that should be held accountable for the acts they did, not me,” he said.
"Like my lawyers have said, I am sick and in need of constant medical care. In the past two weeks, I have been to the hospital three times. I request for bail and I guarantee the court that I will not flee from justice,” he said.

Bail ruling
The presiding judge, Dorothy Yankurije, adjourned the pre-trial to September 17, where a ruling will be made on bail.
The trial started at 9am and lasted for about seven hours, with only a break of about an hour.
His family has insisted that Mr Rusesabagina is in court without the lawyers of his own choosing.
“As yet, Paul has only had contact with lawyers assigned to him by the Rwandan authorities. He had no access to independent advice from his own lawyers. Paul’s family reiterates his right to consult with lawyers of his own choosing, particularly given the extraordinary circumstances surrounding his arrest," Kitty Kurth, the family spokesperson said on Monday.
Mr Rusesabagina chose his lawyer from a list of local advocates that was provided by the Rwandan Bar Association on a pro-bono basis, after he said he did not have the financial means to hire a lawyer.
The family had drawn up a list of six lawyers to represent him, including one Rwandan, two Americans, an Australian, Belgian and Canadian.
By law, foreign advocates are required to seek authorisation from the Rwanda Bar Association to represent a client in Rwanda.
But by press time, the Bar had not received any request from a foreign lawyer intending to represent Mr Rusesabagina.

'Hotel Rwanda' film hero Paul Rusesabagina seeks bail

What you need to know:

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