Rusesabagina's family says he has not yet received a copy of the court's verdict,15 days after the verdict was read

Paul Rusesabagina's family says he has not yet received a copy of the court's verdict, 15 days after the verdict was read.

 

Mr. Rusesabagina, 67, was sentenced to 25 years in prison on September 20 for terrorism offenses, in a case in which he was considered a primary suspect in other 20.

 

A Rwandan lawmaker told the BBC that "otherwise they should have read the case and the copy", but that in the event of a written matter requiring improvements "should not be more than five days" before the convict was given the document.

 

A spokesman for the Rwandan courts did not respond to a request for comment from the BBC.

 

Rusesabagina had withdrawn from the case in March, saying "I do not expect justice."

 

The withdrawal does not preclude the defendant from receiving the transcript of his or her reading, "because the case is read in public and is his or her case," the lawyer, who did not want to be named, told the BBC.

 

In a press release issued by Kitty Kurth, a spokeswoman for the Rusesabagina family, she said that "when his lawyers told him about the verdict a few days ago, he was not surprised."

 

"It is unfortunate that the Rwandan government continues to deny the verdict of a man who pleaded guilty in a 'fair trial'," Ms Kurth said.

 

Rusesabagina has 30 days to appeal the sentence, according to the law. Ms. Kurth argues that he lack of access to the document prevents him from instructing his lawyers "in any matter of appeal."

 

What does the law say?

 

The BBC has received a copy of the document outlining the provisions of the Rwandan Criminal Procedure Code.

 

Article 142 provides that "A judgment rendered in the defendant's absence shall be notified in the same manner as a summons".

 

Mr. Rusesabagina became known around the world after his controversial story based on the film 'Hotel Rwanda', which claims to have saved more than 1,200 people during the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi.

 

His convictions for the attacks on Rwanda by the FLN coalition belonging to the MRCD-UBUMWE coalition were among its leaders.