Lantos Foundation Supports "Man of the Year" Documentary

Media contact:

Chelsea Hedquist

+1 603.229.2017

chelsea@lantosfoundation.org 

Lantos Foundation Supports Man of the Year Documentary, Exposing Dark Truth Behind Rwandan President Paul Kagame’s Propaganda 

October 4, 2021 – The Lantos Foundation for Human Rights & Justice today announced its financial support for a forthcoming documentary in the early stages of production – Man of the Year, a first-of-its-kind film that will take a deep and unfiltered look at the truth behind the lies of Rwanda’s brutal dictatorship.

For more than two decades since Rwanda’s tragic genocide, President Paul Kagame has manipulated and bent the world’s most powerful people and organizations to his will, successfully getting them to adopt his false narrative and simultaneously turn a blind eye to his ruthless repression. Man of the Year follows survivors of the genocide and activists who courageously risk their lives to expose the deadly workings of the Rwandan regime and the disinformation campaign orchestrated by Kagame and his Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF). 

“Paul Kagame is a complex figure who has had some notable achievements, but his descent into brutal dictatorship has been ignored for too long,” said Dr. Katrina Lantos Swett, President of the Lantos Foundation. “The time has come to expose the dark side of the ‘darling dictator’, and Man of the Year promises to do just that. I am so pleased that the Lantos Foundation can play a part in supporting this worthy project, as I truly believe it has the potential to break through Kagame’s propaganda machine and make it impossible for the world to continue to ignore his regime’s human rights abuses.”

Man of the Year is poised to be a tour-de-force, combining the best elements of investigative journalism and documentary filmmaking. With never-before-seen footage from inside Rwanda, including of Rwandan human rights activists shortly before their arrests, and exclusive access to former ruling RPF officials and United Nations documents, the filmmakers expose the machine that turned a one-sided narrative into official dogma. They demonstrate how journalists, academics, and well-meaning global philanthropists became accidental propagandists for Kagame’s regime, and they show the devastating consequences for those who dared to speak out – and have been silenced. 

Man of the Year is directed by Benedict Moran, an award-winning filmmaker who has directed, reported and produced for major global broadcasters and publications in dozens of countries.

As part of the Lantos Foundation’s support, Man of the Year received financial assistance through the Front Line Fund grant program, which was created to assist brave individuals and organizations in their fight against injustices around the world. The Foundation’s Front Line Fund has made more than 150 small grants to individuals and organizations located across the globe, from the United States to Canada, Germany, India, China, Bangladesh, the Middle East and more. In keeping with the Foundation’s focus on “Activist Artists”, the Foundation supports select film and book projects through the Front Line Fund, as well as other human rights-related art initiatives that aim to shine a spotlight on major human rights challenges and expose human rights abusers. 

For more information about Man of the Year, please visit: manoftheyear.film

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About the Lantos Foundation for Human Rights & Justice: The Lantos Foundation was established in 2008 to carry forward the legacy of Congressman Tom Lantos, the only Holocaust survivor ever elected to the U.S. Congress and a leading human rights champion. The Foundation works with a range of partners and often in cooperation with the U.S. Government on issues that span the globe. The Foundation’s key areas of focus include human rights issues related to religious freedom, rule of law, internet freedom and activist art. The Foundation also administers the Lantos Congressional Fellows Program, supports human rights advocates, activists and artists through its Front Line Fund grant program, and awards the annual Lantos Human Rights Prize to honor and bring attention to heroes of the human rights movement. Past recipients of the Prize include His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Professor Elie Wiesel, the real-life hero of Hotel Rwanda Paul Rusesabagina, Israeli President Shimon Peres, Iraqi Parliamentarian Vian Dakhil, Hong Kong Democracy activist Joshua Wong, Bill Browder, the driving force behind the global Magnitsky movement, among others.

Lantos Foundation Calls on U.K. Foreign Ministry to Reject Credentials of Newly Appointed Rwandan Ambassador

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media contact:

Chelsea Hedquist

+1 603.229.2017

chelsea@lantosfoundation.org

Lantos Foundation Calls on U.K. Foreign Ministry to Reject Credentials of Newly Appointed Rwandan Ambassador

U.K. Government instead urged to investigate appointee’s human rights violations and impose Magnitsky-style sanctions

September 9, 2021 – The Lantos Foundation for Human Rights & Justice today called upon the U.K. Foreign Ministry to reject the credentials of the newly appointed Rwandan Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Johnston Busingye, and to instead carefully investigate human rights violations committed by him, which could result in the imposition of Magnitsky-style sanctions.

Lantos Foundation President Dr. Katrina Lantos Swett has written directly to British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, encouraging him to reject the credentials of Mr. Busingye based on the evidence that he played a key role in the extraordinary rendition and kidnapping of Paul Rusesabagina, the real-life hero depicted in the film Hotel Rwanda, in late August 2020. At the time of Mr. Rusesabagina’s kidnapping and subsequent arrest, Mr. Busingye served as Rwanda’s Minister of Justice, the agency which has overseen Rusesabagina’s capture, imprisonment and subsequent sham trial. Then-Minister Busingye admitted during a televised interview on Al Jazeera in February 2021 that the Rwandan government had paid for the plane that transported Mr. Rusesabagina, against his will and without his knowledge, to Kigali. Mr. Busingye’s own statements make his complicity in the kidnapping of Mr. Rusesabagina crystal clear.

In light of the clear evidence of Mr. Busingye’s involvement in the kidnapping, the Lantos Foundation filed a formal submission to the U.S. Department of State and U.S. Department of Treasury in May 2021, recommending Global Magnitsky sanctions against Mr. Busingye and another high-ranking official from the Rwanda Investigation Bureau (RIB). The submission made the case that these men played a significant role in grave human rights violations for which they should be held accountable. This submission was simultaneously transmitted to authorities in the U.K. for consideration. Neither country has taken action to impose sanctions, to date.

On September 1, 2021, Rwandan President Paul Kagame unceremoniously dismissed Mr. Busingye from his role as Minister of Justice. He gave no reason and has not announced a replacement to lead the Ministry of Justice. He did, however, appoint Mr. Busingye as Rwanda’s Ambassador to the United Kingdom – effectively removing him from the country just weeks before a verdict is expected in the sham trial against Mr. Rusesabagina, which has been underway for nearly seven months.

“President Paul Kagame may believe that by sending Johnston Busingye to London, he can divert the focus from the former Justice Minister’s shameful actions and the way he brazenly violated the basic human rights of a humanitarian hero,” said Dr. Katrina Lantos Swett. “But nations who respect human rights cannot allow Kagame to try and sweep these violations under the rug by simply assigning Mr. Busingye elsewhere. We call upon Foreign Secretary Raab and the British Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office to refuse to legitimize Mr. Busingye by accepting his credentials as the Rwandan Ambassador to the Court of St. James. Furthermore, the British Government should seriously and thoroughly investigate the circumstances of Mr. Rusesabagina’s kidnapping and Mr. Busingye’s involvement in these events. If they find the case that we have submitted compelling, and I truly believe they will, it is imperative that they immediately consider Magnitsky-style sanctions against Mr. Busingye and his accomplices.”

Mr. Rusesabagina, a Belgian citizen and U.S. Permanent Resident, has been an outspoken critic of Rwandan President Paul Kagame, who human rights organizations, journalists and policymakers around the world have increasingly characterized as a brutal dictator. Mr. Rusesabagina had stated publicly on several occasions that he could not return to his native country for fear of retribution, and last August he believed he was traveling from his home in Texas to a speaking engagement in Burundi. The private jet he boarded after a layover in Dubai in fact transported him to Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, whereupon he was disappeared for three full days before reappearing in the custody of the RIB. Tragically, Mr. Rusesabagina is not the first critic of the Rwandan government to find himself in this situation – or one that is even worse. Over the past several years under President Paul Kagame, the Rwandan government has demonstrated an alarming pattern of subjecting its critics to a range of gross human rights violations, including enforced disappearances, unlawful imprisonments and extrajudicial killings.

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About the Lantos Foundation for Human Rights & Justice: The Lantos Foundation was established in 2008 to carry forward the legacy of Congressman Tom Lantos, the only Holocaust survivor ever elected to the U.S. Congress and a leading human rights champion. The Foundation works with a range of partners and often in cooperation with the U.S. Government on issues that span the globe. The Foundation’s key areas of focus include human rights issues related to religious freedom, rule of law, internet freedom and activist art. The Foundation also administers the Lantos Congressional Fellows Program, supports human rights advocates, activists and artists through its Front Line Fund grant program, and awards the annual Lantos Human Rights Prize to honor and bring attention to heroes of the human rights movement. Past recipients of the Prize include His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Professor Elie Wiesel, Israeli President Shimon Peres, Iraqi Parliamentarian Vian Dakhil, Hong Kong Democracy activist Joshua Wong, Bill Browder, the driving force behind the global Magnitsky movement, among others.

Lantos Foundation Calls for Magnitsky Sanctions in Paul Rusesabagina Case

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media contact:
Chelsea Hedquist
+1 603.229.2017
chelsea@lantosfoundation.org

Lantos Foundation Calls for Magnitsky Sanctions in Paul Rusesabagina Case

Formal petition filed for U.S. action against Rwandan officials complicit in his kidnapping

June 7, 2021 – The Lantos Foundation for Human Rights & Justice today announced that it has filed a formal submission to the U.S. Department of State and U.S. Department of Treasury recommending Global Magnitsky sanctions against Rwandan Justice Minister Johnston Busingye and head of the Rwanda Investigation Bureau (RIB) Colonel Jeannot Ruhunga for their role in human rights violations committed against Paul Rusesabagina – namely his extraordinary rendition and kidnapping in August 2020.

Paul Rusesabagina, the real-life hero of the Oscar-nominated film Hotel Rwanda and a Presidential Medal of Freedom awardee, was lured to Rwanda last August by an associate secretly working with the Rwandan government. Rusesabagina, a Belgian citizen and U.S. Permanent Resident, has been an outspoken critic of Rwandan President Paul Kagame, who human rights organizations, journalists and policymakers have increasingly characterized as a brutal dictator. Rusesabagina had stated publicly on several occasions that he could not return to his native country for fear of retribution, and last August he believed he was traveling from his home in Texas to a speaking engagement in Burundi. The private jet he boarded after a layover in Dubai in fact transported him to Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, whereupon he was disappeared for three full days before reappearing in the custody of the RIB.

It can sometimes prove difficult to build a case that establishes government officials’ direct involvement in and responsibility for human rights abuses. However, in the case of Paul Rusesabagina’s kidnapping, the complicity and responsibility of both Busingye and Ruhunga is crystal clear. Minister Busingye admitted during a televised interview on Al Jazeera in February 2021 that the Rwandan government had paid for the plane that transported Rusesabagina, without his knowledge, to Kigali. Likewise, Colonel Ruhunga, as head of the RIB, not only oversaw the operation to kidnap Rusesabagina but was also named in a recent jailhouse transcript as one of two people who visited Rusesabagina when he was held incommunicado in an unknown location during the three days between the time he was kidnapped and when he was presented in handcuffs in Kigali.

“For too long, the appalling actions of the Rwandan government under the leadership of Paul Kagame have gone without consequence,” said Lantos Foundation President Dr. Katrina Lantos Swett. “In this instance, there is unequivocal evidence that Minister Busingye and Colonel Ruhunga violated the basic human rights of a humanitarian hero. A strong response by the United States is fully warranted and anything less would only embolden the Rwandan government to continue its abuse.”

The Lantos Foundation’s submission to State and Treasury presents the overwhelming evidence that these two individuals can and should be held responsible for Rusesabagina’s kidnapping – a clear violation of the United Nations’ International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. The submission calls for the United States to hold Busingye and Ruhunga to account for this violation by imposing Magnitsky sanctions on them. The submission was simultaneously transmitted to officials in the United Kingdom and the European Union for consideration of their own respective sanctions.

Tragically, Paul Rusesabagina is not the first critic of the Rwandan government to find himself in this situation – or one that is even worse. Over the past several years under President Paul Kagame, the Rwandan government has demonstrated an alarming pattern of subjecting its critics to a range of gross human rights violations, including enforced disappearance, imprisonment and extrajudicial killings. Indeed, the Lantos Foundation’s submission includes an attachment that details numerous chilling examples of what has happened to a long string of Kagame’s opponents, among them Patrick Karegeya (assassinated in South Africa), Boniface Twagirimana (disappeared from Rwandan prison), Kizito Mihigo (died in Rwandan prison) and many others. Rwanda bills itself as a vibrant democracy and an inspiring success story, but its repeated and increasingly bold-faced efforts to stifle any form of dissent tell the story of a country that has descended deep into authoritarian rule.

Dr. Lantos Swett said, “The United States was quick to announce its intention to sanction Belarusian officials involved in diverting a commercial airline for the purpose of arresting a prominent Belarusian dissident. Yet, there has been shockingly little action from the U.S. in terms of censuring, let alone holding accountable, the individuals responsible for the unlawful kidnapping of this courageous man: a U.S. Permanent Resident who received our nation’s highest civilian honor and whose story has inspired millions of people around the world. The U.S. government has an important opportunity to right this wrong by moving to impose Magnitsky sanctions on Minister Busingye and Colonel Ruhunga. We must take action now – failure to do so may send the message that the Rwandan government has carte blanche to trample on the rights of Paul Rusesabagina. The consequences of such a message could be tragic and fatal.”

The Lantos Foundation filed its formal submission on May 18, 2021.

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About the Lantos Foundation for Human Rights & Justice: The Lantos Foundation was established in 2008 to carry forward the legacy of Congressman Tom Lantos, the only Holocaust survivor ever elected to the U.S. Congress and a leading human rights champion. The Foundation works with a range of partners and often in cooperation with the U.S. Government on issues that span the globe. The Foundation’s key areas of focus include human rights issues related to religious freedom, rule of law, internet freedom and activist art. The Foundation also administers the Lantos Congressional Fellows Program, supports human rights advocates, activists and artists through its Front Line Fund grant program, and awards the annual Lantos Human Rights Prize to honor and bring attention to heroes of the human rights movement. Past recipients of the Prize include His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Professor Elie Wiesel, Israeli President Shimon Peres, Iraqi Parliamentarian Vian Dakhil, “Hotel Rwanda” hero Paul Rusesabagina, and Hong Kong Democracy activist Joshua Wong, among others.