Rwandan human rights hero Paul Rusesabagina is set to be released from prison.

The Rwandan Ministry of Justice announced Friday that Rusesabagina’s prison sentence had been commuted by an order from Rwandan President Paul Kagame. A hero of the Rwandan Genocide who sheltered more than 1,200 refugees fleeing militia groups, Rusesabagina’s story was told in the award-winning 2004 film “Hotel Rwanda.” He had been kidnapped and imprisoned since 2020.

Yolande Makolo, a spokeswoman for the Rwandan government, said in a statement to the Associated Press Friday that the order came in response to a request for clemency. Rusesabagina is expected to be released on Saturday, Makolo added.

The Ministry of Justice issued a statement announcing the order, but also said that the orders came with a catch. “Under Rwandan law, commutation of sentence does not extinguish the underlying conviction,” the statement read. “If any individual benefitting from early release repeats offences of a similar nature, the commutation can be revoked and the remainder of the prison sentence will be served, in accordance with the conditions specified in the Presidential Order. Other penalties imposed by the Court, such as compensation owed to victims, are not affected by this commutation and thus remain in force.”

According to NPR, Rusesabagina was kidnapped in 2020 when he boarded a plane in Dubai that he believed was headed to Burundi. Instead, he landed in the Rwandan capital city of Kigali. He was promptly arrested and tried on terrorism charges over his involvement with Rwanda Movement for Democratic Change (MRCD), AP reported. The MRCD’s militant wing, the Forces for National Liberation (FLN), had carried out attacks in 2018 and 2019, which killed nine Rwandans. Rusesabagina said at trial that he did help form the militia group, but did not support violence.

The Ministry of Justice statement also included a letter from Rusesabagina to Kagame requesting clemency. “If I am granted a pardon and released, I understand fully that I will spend the remainder of my days in the United States in quiet reflection,” he wrote. “I can assure you through this letter that I hold no personal or political ambitions otherwise. I will leave questions regarding Rwandan politics behind me.”

In December, Kagame rejected pressure from U.S. diplomatic officials to release Rusesabagina. “We’ve made it clear there isn’t anyone going to come from anywhere to bully us into something to do with our lives,” he said. “Maybe make an invasion and overrun the country — you can do that.”

But Makolo credited the U.S. for handling negotiations. “Rwanda notes the constructive role of the U.S. government in creating conditions for dialogue on this issue, as well as the facilitation provided by the state of Qatar,” Makolo said.

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Rwandan Press Secretary Stephanie Nyombayire added that Rusesabagina’s release “is the result of a shared desire to reset US-Rwanda relationship.”

Rusesabagina will be flown to Doha, Qatar, before returning to the U.S. and reuniting with his family.

Rusesabagina achieved worldwide fame for his actions in the Rwandan Genocide. He opened the Hôtel des Mille Collines in Kigali to more than 1,200 Hutu and Tutsi refugees fleeing the Hutu paramilitary group Interahamwe in 1994. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his heroics in 2005, and his story was dramatized in the 2004 film “Hotel Rwanda,” starring Don Cheadle.

Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm unveiled new climate and efficiency restrictions on air conditioners despite widespread criticism the Biden administration received after officials recently announced restrictions on gas stoves.

The new energy efficiency standards, which will apply to room air conditioners and portable air cleaners, will enter into effect next year. The Energy Department contended that the new rules will assist with “tackling the climate crisis,” as well as save consumers $25 billion over the next three decades. Room air conditioners are more commonly called window air conditioners.

“Today’s announcement builds on the historic actions President Biden took last year to strengthen outdated energy efficiency standards, which will help save on people’s energy bills and reduce our nation’s carbon footprint,” Granholm said in a press release. She added that the Energy Department will “continue to engage with our public and private sector partners to finalize additional proposals like today’s that lower household energy costs and deliver the safer, healthier communities that every American deserves.”

The rules are the first federal standards for portable air cleaners. The Energy Department asserted that the regulations mark a consensus among “manufacturers, the manufacturing trade association, efficiency advocates, consumer advocacy groups, states, and utilities.”

The policies come weeks after multiple senior officials in the Biden administration repeatedly backtracked on new energy efficiency standards for gas stoves amid mounting criticism. Controversy over the potential regulations emerged earlier this year when Consumer Product Safety Commission Commissioner Richard Trumka Jr. said in an interview that gas stoves are a “hidden hazard” and declared that “any option is on the table” for a nationwide ban. Consumer Product Safety Commission Chairman Alex Hoehn-Saric later posted a statement asserting that neither he nor the agency planned to outlaw gas stoves.

The Energy Department then unveiled forthcoming efficiency standards which would impact approximately “half of the total gas cooking top market.” Proposed regulations would introduce a new “maximum integrated annual energy consumption” standard for gas stoves, marking a change from previous regulations that prohibited constant burning pilot lights in gas stoves, but placed no limits on energy consumption. Officials noted that “products achieving these standard levels are already commercially available for all product classes covered by this proposal” and cited “important and robust” climate benefits in documents justifying the new rules.

Some 38% of households in the United States use gas stoves for cooking, with the figure approaching 70% for states such as California and New Jersey, according to data from the Energy Information Administration. Those who use gas stoves often cite the easier temperature control offered by the appliances relative to electric alternatives.

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Granholm defended the consideration of new efficiency standards for gas stoves during remarks this week before the House Appropriations Committee. “This does not impact the majority, and it certainly does not say that anybody who has a gas stove would have their gas stove taken away,” she told lawmakers. “There’s no ban on gas stoves. I have a gas stove. It is just about making the existing electric and gas stoves, and all the other appliances, more efficient.”