Victor's Justice

As Egypt prepares to prosecute Hosni Mubarak, here's a look at five other countries that have -- with mixed success -- put former leaders on trial for their crimes.

BY JOSHUA E. KEATING | MAY 25, 2011

SADDAM HUSSEIN

Country: Iraq

Charges: A long list of counts starting with the 1998 ethnic cleansing campaign against Kurds (including gassing the town of Halabja), the 1990 invasion of Kuwait, the crushing of the Kurdish and Shiite rebellions following the war, the killing of political activists, the 1993 massacre of members of the Kurdish Barzain clan, the 1974 killing of Shiite religious leaders, and the killing of 148 people in the Shiite town of Dujail following a 1992 assassination attempt.

Justice: U.S. troops pulled Saddam out of an 8-foot-deep "spider hole" on Dec. 12, 2003, and turned him over to Iraqi authorities a short time later. He made his first appearance in an Iraqi courtroom almost two years later and immediately challenged the legitimacy of his trial, saying, "I preserve my constitutional rights as the president of Iraq.... I do not respond to this so-called court, with all due respect."

Saddam was convicted and sentenced to death on Nov. 5, 2005, for the killings in Dujail. He was hanged on Dec. 29. As a formality, the court dropped the rest of the charges against him, including genocide, in January, prompting protests from Kurdish groups. (Saddam's henchman Ali Hassan "Chemical Ali" al-Majid would eventually be executed for his part in the massacre of Kurds.) The emotional victory for Iraqis glad to see Saddam finally face justice was undercut somewhat by unauthorized video footage showing guards taunting the former leader in his final moments.

Nikola Solic-Pool/Getty Images; RAUL GARCIA PEREIRA/AFP/Getty Images; JUAN MABROMATA/AFP/Getty Images; Extraordinary Chamber in the Courts of Cambodia via Getty Images; HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP/Getty Images

 SUBJECTS: JUSTICE, LAW
 

Joshua E. Keating is an associate editor at Foreign Policy.

ZUFADHLI

10:05 PM ET

May 25, 2011

Every dictator need to put to justice

To see that many of these dictators finally been brought to justice, I feel relieved.. It's not something that you want to have a dictator as your country's leaders... But to think that Hosni Mubarak finally brought down by his own people after ruling so long. No matter that that he do to stop the people from using the media, people still using the phone and the Internet to overthrow him. It sad to see so many people died from these incidents. But to see a dictator finally brought down to face the true justice...

 

PERSON_GUYZ

2:15 AM ET

June 23, 2011

I think that Hosni Mubarak

I think that Hosni Mubarak finally brought down by his own people after ruling so long earnextramoney. No matter that that he do to stop the people from using the media, people still using the phone and the Internet to overthrow him. It sad to see so many people died from these incidents.