Vincent Lurquin who tried to defend Rusesabagina was deported from Rwanda

The Chief of Staff of the National Immigration Service, Lt. Col. Regis Gatarayiha reports that Belgian lawyer Me Vincent Lurquin committed a criminal offense when he tried to defend Paul.

Rusesabagina in the International Criminal and cross-border crimes Court.

Gatarayiha told the RBA on August 21, 2021, after the NIS had expelled the lawyer from Rwandan territory, and ordered that he he never return in accordance with the provisions of national law.

He said that Mr. Lurquin had come to Rwanda for tourism reasons, but instead of just doing so he appeared in this court dressed in work clothes, ready to defend Rusesabagina.

"So that is a crime when you do a job without a work permit, we as an immigration agency consider that as a crime under the law and whoever acts like this is punished because what he/she have done is different from what a visit permit allows," Gatarayiha said.

After Me Lurquin was found in court dressed as a lawyer, The NIS summoned him and asked him why he had done so, to which he replied that he thought that being allowed to come to Rwanda would allow him to do anything.

Gatarayiha said: "We told him that this was a negligence since he is a lawyer, that it was a deliberate negligence, just like in Belgium, no Rwandan would go to work without a license, without a license."

Mr Lurquin, who has been Rusesabagina's lawyer since they were both in Belgium, appeared in court wearing the suit on August 20, 2021.