epa02416657 (FILE) A file picture dated 04 March 2007 of Paul Rusesabagina, the man who inspired the film Hotel Rwanda, at the Warwick Hotel in New York City, USA. The hotelier who was depicted heroically in the 2004 film "Hotel Rwanda" has denied charges by Rwandan authorities that he helped fund a rebel group, the broadcaster CNN reported on 28 October 2010. Paul Rusesabagina was accused by General Prosecutor Martin Ngoga of financially aiding the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, a Hutu rebel group that has links to the perpetrators of the genocide in Rwanda in 1994. EPA/E. SCHNEIDER / VOICES-UNABRIDGED / HO EDITORIAL USE ONLY By Clement Uwiringiyimana
"They should be found guilty for being part of this terror group - MRCD-FLN," judge Beatrice Mukamurenzi said of 20 defendants including Rusesabagina. "They attacked people in their homes, or even in their cars on the road traveling."
The case has had a high profile since Rusesabagina, 67, was arrested last year on arrival from Dubai after what he described as a kidnapping by Rwandan authorities.
Since being portrayed by actor Don Cheadle as the hero of the 2004 film "Hotel Rwanda", Rusesabagina emerged as a prominent critic of President Paul Kagame, based in the United States. He had denied all the charges against him, while his supporters called the trial a sham and proof of Kagame's ruthless treatment of political opponents.
Prosecutors had sought a life sentence on nine charges, including terrorism, arson, taking hostages and forming an armed rebel group which he directed from abroad. After the announcement of the initial verdict, one of the defendants became ill, causing a short recess which delayed verdicts on other charges and sentencing.
Rusesabagina became a global celebrity after the film, which depicted him risking his life to shelter hundreds as the boss of a luxury hotel in the Rwandan capital Kigali during the 100-day genocide when Hutu ethnic extremists killed more than 800,000 people, mostly from the Tutsi minority.
Cheadle was nominated for an Oscar for the role. Rusesabagina used his fame to highlight what he described as rights violations by the government of Kagame, a Tutsi rebel commander who took power after his forces captured Kigali and halted the genocide.
Rusesabagina's trial began in February, six months after he arrived in Kigali on a flight from Dubai. His supporters say he was kidnapped; the Rwandan government suggested he was tricked into boarding a private plane. Human Rights Watch said at the time that his arrest amounted to an enforced disappearance, which it called a serious violation of international law. (Editing by Katharine Houreld and Peter Graff)