'Hotel Rwanda' hero Rusesabagina freed from Rwandan jail

Paul Rusesabagina, portrayed as a hero in a Hollywood movie about Rwanda's 1994 genocide, sits inside a courtroom in Kigali, Rwanda February 26, 2021. REUTERS/Clement Uwiringiyimana

WASHINGTON/KIGALI (Reuters) -Paul Rusesabagina, who was portrayed as a hero in the film "Hotel Rwanda," was released from a Rwandan prison on Friday, U.S. officials said, after his sentence was commuted following intense diplomacy by the United States.

Rusesabagina, a U.S. permanent resident, was accompanied by a U.S. embassy official as he was moved from prison to the residence of Qatar’s ambassador in Kigali late on Friday, according to two senior Biden administration officials who briefed reporters in Washington.