I was wrongfully imprisoned abroad. The US must do more to help people like me.

USA Today

12-06-2025

I was wrongfully imprisoned abroad. The US must do more to help people like me. This summer will mark five years since I was wrongfully imprisoned by the Rwandan government. For 939 days I sat in prison, cut off from family and community. It was a nightmare I couldn't escape.
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Mother of freed Hamas-held Israeli-American hostage speaks to son
The mother of Israeli-American Edan Alexander, who was held captive for 19 months by Hamas, spoke to her son for the first time since being freed.
Paul Rusesabagina, known for his actions during the Rwandan genocide, was arbitrarily detained for 939 days.
Arbitrary detentions of Americans abroad have risen significantly, increasing from four countries in 2001 to 27 in 2023.
Rusesabagina advocates for stronger U.S. government support for detainees and their families, including clearer agency roles and improved coordination.
He highlights the need for improvements to the Levinson Act, urging clearer guidelines for wrongful detention designations and responses, especially for human rights defenders.
This summer will mark five years since I was kidnapped and wrongfully imprisoned by the Rwandan government.
For 939 days, I sat in prison, cut off from my family and community. I was held in solitary confinement, denied medical care and often unable to speak with my lawyers. The days felt endless ‒ like a nightmare I couldn't escape.
For my family, it was a different sort of nightmare. Overnight, their lives were transformed. My wife and children were left to navigate the complex web of U.S. federal offices tasked with hostage recovery. My family became full-time advocates for my return, pleading my case before U.S. government officials and sharing my story with the news media. They recruited everyone from national nonprofits and grassroots organizations to Hollywood celebrities who had first learned my story from the movie 'Hotel Rwanda.'
Led by my family's passion and persistence, all of these groups played a role in securing my freedom in 2023. There are no words to describe my gratitude. Alongside that gratitude is my fierce commitment to ensure that no individual ‒ and no family ‒ goes through this alone.
More Americans are being detained abroad. We can't leave them behind.
Over the past two decades, there has been a significant rise in the overseas arbitrary detention of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents like me. Arbitrary detention means someone is detained without due process, and most of the time as reprisal for exercising their rights or being a member of a targeted group.
In 2001, only four countries had arbitrarily detained a U.S. national. In 2023, that number had grown to 27 countries. According to the Foley Foundation, at least 54 Americans were held hostage or wrongfully detained overseas during 2024.
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The stories behind these statistics are chilling. Cambodian American human rights activist Theary Seng was jailed and sentenced to six years in prison for criticizing Cambodia's dictator on social media. Russian American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva was sentenced to more than six years after the Russian government accused her of spreading falsehoods about the army.
I was jailed without a fair trial and punished for speaking out against Rwandan President Paul Kagame and his repressive regime.
Addressing the rise in arbitrary detention, wrongful detention and hostage-taking isn't just about justice on an individual level. It's about safeguarding the very foundation of democracy ‒ the ability to speak out without the threat of a jail cell.
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Across administrations and across party lines, the United States has historically been committed to helping people who are wrongfully detained overseas, whether they are U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents like myself or citizens of other countries who are victimized by oppressive regimes.
Amid an international context of increasing authoritarianism, it is more important than ever that the U.S. government provide a strong, unified front in fighting for the return of arbitrarily detained individuals and supporting the families left behind.
America is capable of protecting its citizens abroad better. I know.
My story proves what the U.S. government is capable of when it mobilizes resources and prioritizes democracy. To this day, my daughters speak about the State Department's above-and-beyond efforts to reunite us. For years, congressional representatives championed our cause, writing letters, speaking out and putting pressure on the Kagame regime.
But there is still room for improvement. The U.S. government's ability to help detainees and their families is often hindered by the lack of clarity on the specific roles of various government agencies and the logistical difficulty of coordinating with all of those different groups.
My family and I recently worked with Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, the leading nonprofit that took my case to the United Nations when I was detained, to create a new guide that provides strategies and best practices for engaging with the U.S. government on arbitrary detention cases. It's my sincere hope that this resource helps individuals and families who find themselves in our position, desperately trying to secure the return of their loved one.
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Aside from independent resources, we need stronger federal guidance and coordination. The U.S. law that governs hostage recovery, the Robert Levinson Hostage Recovery and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act, was passed in 2020 and significantly expanded the U.S. legal framework around arbitrary and wrongful detention.
But for all its benefits, the Levinson Act doesn't give enough clarity on how the secretary of State makes wrongful detention designations, which is a crucial component of recovery efforts. It also doesn't provide a clear system for how the United States responds to arbitrary detention, particularly in cases involving human rights defenders.
Organizations like the Foley Foundation that work closely with arbitrarily detained people and their families have spent years advocating for changes within the U.S. government. Their recommendations range from establishing a direct line of communication among the president, the special presidential envoy and the director of the Hostage Recovery Fusion Cell to creating a more comprehensive reintegration support program for returning hostages and wrongful detainees.
Admittedly, there is no one catch-all solution. Arbitrary and wrongful detention is a complex challenge, and addressing it requires ongoing collaboration within the government, strong recovery efforts, effective international relations and prevention strategies that tackle root causes. But all of this starts at home, with domestic policies that protect U.S. nationals and safeguard human rights defenders abroad.
I escaped that Rwandan prison because of a powerful joint effort among individuals, nonprofit organizations and government agencies. There were many people who stood up and who fought for my freedom. That community saved my life.
In a perfect world, no individual or family would ever go through what I did. But until we get to that point, we must stand alongside arbitrarily detained individuals and their families.
The U.S. government has an opportunity to continue being a beacon of hope.
Paul Rusesabagina is a Rwandan humanitarian activist and former hotel manager whose actions during the 1994 genocide inspired the film "Hotel Rwanda." He has since become an outspoken critic of authoritarianism in Rwanda and a global voice for justice and peace.