April 29, 2022
Press Conference at the National Press Club on May 3, 2022 at 10:30 am EDT
Washington, DC – On Tuesday, May 3 at 10:30 am EDT at the National Press Club in Washington, DC the family and legal representatives of illegally extradited and jailed humanitarian Paul Rusesabagina will hold a press conference to announce a lawsuit against the Rwandan government for their role in kidnapping Hotel Rwanda hero Paul Rusesabagina. The complaint alleges that the Government of Rwanda and high-ranking Rwandan officials conspired to facilitate and execute an elaborate plot to lure Paul Rusesabagina from his home in Texas to Rwanda, where he would be tortured and illegally detained for the remainder of his life.
In late August of 2020, Paul Rusesabagina, the international human rights icon and US Presidential Medal of Freedom winner, whose story of saving 1,268 people during the Rwandan Genocide was told in the film Hotel Rwanda, was lured from his home in San Antonio, Texas and was ultimately taken to Kigali, Rwanda where he was tortured, arrested and held in solitary confinement. He was subjected to a sham trial which Human Rights Watch called emblematic of the Rwandan “government’s overreach and manipulation of the justice system.”
The press conference will be in person at the National Press Club, 529 14th St. NW in Washington, DC at 10:30 am EDT on May 3, 2022. The press conference will also be available for viewing later:
#FreeRusesabagina Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/FreePaulRusesabagina
#FreeRusesabagina YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/c/FreeRusesabagina/videos
The complaint was filed in federal court in Washington, DC. It has now been served on the government of Rwanda. This lawsuit is seeking more than $400 million in compensatory damages in addition to punitive damages. This number grows every day that Paul Rusesabagina is held in captivity.
Every American should be watching this lawsuit. Rusesabagina, a Belgian Citizen and US Legal Permanent Resident was lured from his home in Texas by the authoritarian Rwandan government for exercising his right to free speech.
The attorneys who will discuss the complaint are John Eaves, Jr., Steve Perles and Agnieszka Fryszman.
Eaves Law Firm
John Arthur Eaves, Jr. is working on the case from the Eaves Law Firm. Founded in 1963 in Jackson, Mississippi, Eaves Law Firm has represented over 20,000 clients from across the continental United States, its territories, and over 11 foreign countries. John Arthur Eaves, Jr. has set himself apart from other boutique law firms. He has been successful in collecting over $2 Billion for clients who have been victims of state sponsored terrorism, cyber security breaches, environmental contamination, and maritime and aviation disasters. Mr. Eaves has litigated claims against Iran, Sudan, Iraq, and Afghan terrorist organizations, corporate giants, and pharmaceutical companies.
Mr. Eaves has diligently advocated for justice before the courts and Congress and has been a guest lecturer in Europe and Germany on International Law, “Law, Media, and Politics: The Way to Win,” and the American Legal System. His desire to serve the disadvantaged has fueled Mr. Eaves’ philanthropic nature which is evident in the types of cases he pursues.
The Perles Law Firm
Steve Perles, founder of the Perles Law Firm, was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2017, is an adjunct professor at William & Mary Law School and a trustee of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. The Perles Law Firm is located in Washington, DC and specializes in private litigation against state sponsors of terrorism, including Iran, Syria, Sudan, and Libya, as well as against private financial institutions that launder money for terrorist organizations.
Over the past 40 years, the firm’s work has resulted in billions of dollars in reparations for thousands of American victims of terrorism and their family members. The firm has represented persons killed or injured in events such as the bombing of the LaBelle Discotheque in Berlin, the bombing of the U.S. Embassies in Nairobi and Dar al Salaam, and the bombing of the U.S. Marine Barracks in Beirut, attacks against U.S. service members in Iraq as well as journalists, diplomats and aid workers targeted by ISIS and al Qaeda. The firm has also played a significant role in the passage of multiple pieces of legislation that resulted in compensation for their clients.
The firm’s clients hold several billion dollars in outstanding compensatory damages awards against the Islamic Republic of Iran, as well as over $10 billion dollars in punitive damages.
Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC
Agnieszka Fryszman is the Chair of Cohen Milstein’s Human Rights practice. An internationally acclaimed expert and leader in the field of human rights law, Ms. Fryszman represents individuals who have been victims of torture, human trafficking, forced and slave labor and other violations of international law. Ms. Fryszman regularly litigates human rights violation cases against corporate giants, such as Chiquita, Exxon, KBR. Ms. Fryszman was a member of the team that successfully represented survivors of Nazi-era forced and slave labor against the German and Austrian companies that allegedly profited from their labor, resulting in multi-billion-dollar settlements.
Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC is recognized as one of the premier law firms in the country, handling complex plaintiff-side litigation. With more than 100 attorneys, Cohen Milstein has offices in Washington, D.C., Chicago, Ill., New York, N.Y., Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., Philadelphia, Pa. and Raleigh, N.C. For additional information, visit www.cohenmilstein.com or call 202.408.4600.
The press conference will also be available for viewing later on the #FreeRusesabagina Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/FreePaulRusesabagina and on the #FreeRusesabagina YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/c/FreeRusesabagina/videos
#FreeRusesabagina
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