Paul Rusesabagina, the hero of the film “Hotel Rwanda” failed to appear in a Kigali court on Monday as State prosecutors sought to increase his sentence on terrorism charges from 25 years to life. The AFP news agency reports that 67 year-old Rusesabagina and 20 co-defendants were convicted and sentenced in September for backing an armed rebel group in a trial that rights groups and his supporters had branded a sham. But prosecutors sought a life sentence and filed an appeal, considering the punishment too lenient for the former hotel manager, who used his international profile to rail against Rwandan President Paul Kagame. The judge said a decision would be made on Tuesday about whether to proceed with the appeal in Rusesabagina’s absence.
