The man portrayed as a hero in a Hollywood movie about the Rwandan genocide has said he will not appear again at his terrorism trial.

“Because the court denies me my rights in this trial, I am not expecting justice here, so I will not appear in this trial again," Paul Rusesabagina told the court in Rwanda’s capital, Kigali.

Earlier during the hearing on Friday, he had asked the court for six months to prepare his trial - and to be able to choose his own defence team, including his Belgian lawyer.

But the court rejected his request citing non-reciprocity between the Belgium and Rwandan bars, and "denying right to timely justice" to the 20 other suspects on trial with him.

He is likely to now be tried in absentia.

The 66-year-old was detained in unclear circumstances in Dubai last August. He says he was illegally abducted and flown to Rwanda, but the court says he was tricked and must stand trial.

A fierce critic of Rwanda's President Paul Kagame, he is accused of sponsoring deadly attacks in Rwanda in 2018 and 2019 by the FLN, the armed wing of the Rwandan Movement for Democratic Change (MRCD), a coalition of opposition parties of which he is vice-president.

He became famous after Don Cheadle played him in the 2004 film Hotel Rwanda, which depicted his efforts to save hundreds of people from being murdered during the 1994 genocide.

He left Rwanda in 1996 and sought asylum in Belgium where he took citizenship. He later obtained a green card for the US, becoming involved in opposition politics in exile.

His lawyers have denied the charges against him.