The man portrayed as a hero in the film Hotel Rwanda has admitted in court that he backed a rebel group but denied he supported any violence or killings.

A Rwandan court has charged Paul Rusesabagina – whose story inspired the film Hotel Rwanda – with terrorism, complicity in murder and forming an armed rebel group.

Supporters of the man portrayed in the movie Hotel Rwanda say Rwandan authorities have denied a lawyer access to Paul Rusesabagina nearly a week after the outspoken government critic was paraded in handcuffs and accused of terrorism.

Paul Rusesabagina, who was portrayed in the film Hotel Rwanda as a hero who saved the lives of more than 1,200 people from the country’s 1994 genocide, has been arrested by the Rwandan government on terror charges.