A US appellate court has granted Paul Rusesabagina the right to sue an air charter company for allegedly flying him to Rwanda against his will, reviving a case that could see the firm held liable.

The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit overturned a Texas district court ruling that had dismissed Rusesabagina’s case against GainJet Aviation for lack of personal jurisdiction. The appeals court directed the lower court to reconsider the case on the question of jurisdiction.

The case dates back to August 2020, when Rusesabagina boarded a flight he believed was bound for Burundi. Instead, the aircraft landed in Rwanda, where he says he was kidnapped, tortured, and imprisoned. He was later convicted of supporting a rebel group but freed in 2023 after Qatari mediation.

Rusesabagina, a US permanent resident and longtime critic of President Paul Kagame, gained international recognition after the 2004 film Hotel Rwanda portrayed him as sheltering people during the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi. He was awarded the US Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2005. Rwanda disputes his account, accusing him of exploiting those he claimed to protect.

After his release, Rusesabagina and his family sued GainJet, alleging the company conspired with Kigali to facilitate his abduction. The district court dismissed the case, ruling that “GainJet’s intent to kidnap Mr Rusesabagina does not establish purposeful contacts with Texas.”

The appeals court disagreed, noting: “Mr Rusesabagina was injured the moment he was lured from his home in San Antonio.”

It added that while GainJet is based in Greece, it operates internationally, including flights to the US, and Texas has a strong interest in protecting its residents from foreign entities that “fraudulently reach into the state to kidnap and torture them.”

Court filings show that while still in Texas, Rusesabagina provided his passport details to a Rwandan official, who then passed them to GainJet’s operations manager. He also alleges GainJet misrepresented the flight’s destination under instructions from Kigali.

Rusesabagina argues the court has jurisdiction under two theories: the “effects test,” which allows jurisdiction if actions outside the state cause harm within it, and “conspiracy jurisdiction,” which holds co-conspirators liable in the same forum.

Evidence filed includes records of GainJet’s longstanding services to Rwandan leaders, communications with officials before the flight, and irregularities in crew and passenger documentation.

The appellate decision emphasised that GainJet had not shown litigation in Texas would be “fundamentally unfair.”

Dr Christian Garuka, a lawyer in Kigali, declined to comment on the case’s implications for Rwanda. “Unfortunately, I cannot predict a court outcome—I can only analyse a final court decision,” he told The EastAfrican.

The Rwandan government did not respond to requests for comment.