Presidents of world countries have been sentenced, including to death or life sentence. The most famous executed rulers

On November 22, 1963, US President John Kennedy was assassinated. For this date, we have collected together the stories of leaders of states whose assassination attempts were successful.

2013-11-22 13:02

John Fitzgerald Kennedy. USA. 1963

America's most charismatic president was shot dead in Dallas (Texas, USA) during the presidential motorcade. John Kennedy was driving a convertible, so it was not difficult for the killer to take aim and fire a few shots.

The first bullet hit the president in the back of the neck and came out of the front of the throat, the second hit the head and caused destruction of the skull bones and damage to the brain matter. President Kennedy was taken to the operating room, where he was pronounced dead 30 minutes after the assassination attempt. In addition, the governor of Texas, who was traveling in the same car, was seriously injured, and one of the passers-by was also slightly injured.

A few hours later, a certain Lee Harvey Oswald was captured on suspicion of murder, who, in turn, was shot by nightclub owner Jack Ruby as he left the police station. By the way, Jack Ruby died suddenly in prison shortly after his arrest.

The official report on the investigation into the circumstances of the Kennedy assassination was published in 1964; it said that Oswald was the president's killer and that all the shots were fired by him from the top floor of the building. According to the report, no murder plot could be identified.

Park Chung Hee. The Republic of Korea. 1979

In 1971, President Park Chung-hee was re-elected to a third term, contrary to the current Constitution (he had already won elections twice since 1963). The country adopted a new Constitution, which greatly expanded his powers, also increased the presidential term to six years and removed restrictions on the number of re-elections. Park's stable rule resulted in significant growth in the South Korean economy, but domestic civil liberties were suppressed and counterintelligence arrested and tortured opponents of the regime. In the late 1970s, the opposition began to take to the streets, and mass demonstrations turned into riots. Several attempts were made on the president's life; The attempt of a professional, the director of the Korean Central Intelligence Agency, Kim Jae-gyu, who shot Park in October 1979, was successful. The killer explained his act by saying that the regime was hindering the democratic development of the country. On May 24, 1980, he and his accomplices were hanged. There is a version that the murder was an attempt by the special services to stage a coup.

Muhammad Anwar al-Sadat. Egypt. 1981

Muhammad Anwar al-Sadat, whose eclectic worldview was heavily influenced by the first president Republic of Turkey Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, nonviolent protester Mahatma Gandhi and German National Socialist leader Adolf Hitler were elected president of Egypt in 1970. Having taken the highest government position, he began to move away from the pan-Arab ideology of his predecessor Gamal Abdel Nasser, many supporters former president were arrested. In the fall of 1981, Islamic fundamentalists took revenge on Sadat for rapprochement with Israel: during a military parade in Cairo, terrorists opened fire on the government podium where the country's leader was sitting. Sadat was killed on the spot.

Ziaur Rahman. Bangladesh. 1981

In 1971, when the Bengalis of East Pakistan - the future state of Bangladesh - fought, with Indian support, a war for independence from Western Pakistan, Major General Ziaur Rahman commanded the front. In 1978, he was elected president of the young state, leaving him with the powers of commander-in-chief, chief of staff of the ground forces, as well as minister of finance and internal affairs. During his time in power, Rahman founded one of the two largest political parties in the country - the Bangladesh Nationalist Party. But the president miscalculated by demoting his former friend and associate General Abul Mansur (in fact, he was exiled to command one of the military districts). On the night of May 30, 1981, Rahman was killed by troops loyal to Mansur during a visit to the city of Chittagong, which was part of the disgraced general’s district.

Mohamed Boudiaf. Algeria. 1992

After the military coup of 1992, the head of the Supreme State Council of Algeria was asked to become one of the leaders of the struggle for independence, the hero of the 1954 uprising, Mohamed Boudiaf. Having accepted the junta's proposal, the elderly politician declared the need for radical reforms, but his powers as the nominal head of state were severely limited. Boudiaf tried to fight corruption, in which many military personnel were involved. At the end of June 1992, the Algerian President was assassinated by his own bodyguard during a television appearance. It is believed that the motive was the Islamist views of the killer, who was sentenced to death in 1995, but the sentence was never carried out.

Exactly 63 years ago, on November 13, 1950, the head of Venezuela, General Carlos Delgado Chalbo, died at the hands of assassins in Caracas. During the 20th century, more than one president was assassinated in developing countries, but the United States became the pioneer in this matter back in 1865.

Carlos Delgado Chalbo, Venezuela

In November 1948, Carlos Delgado Chalbo staged a coup against Venezuelan President Rómulo Gallegos, who was trying to raise taxes on foreign capital. Delgado led the military junta, but two years later he was kidnapped and killed by a group of militants led by Rafael Urbina. The opposition suspected Marcos Perez Jiminez of contract murder, who after Delgado's death actually became the head of government, and in 1953 - the president of Venezuela, but his involvement in the crime could not be proven: Urbina was killed in prison the day after his arrest, without having time to give indications.

Ziaur Rahman, Bangladesh

In 1971, when the Bengalis of East Pakistan - the future Bangladesh - fought, with Indian support, a war for independence from West Pakistan, Major General Ziaur Rahman commanded the front. In 1978, he was elected president of the young state, leaving him with the powers of commander-in-chief, chief of staff of the ground forces, as well as minister of finance and internal affairs. During his time in power, Rahman founded one of the two largest political parties in the country, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party. But the president miscalculated by demoting his former friend and associate General Abul Mansur (in fact, he was exiled to command one of the military districts). On the night of May 30, 1981, Rahman was killed by troops loyal to Mansur during a visit to the city of Chittagong, which was part of the disgraced general’s district.

Mohamed Boudiaf, Algeria

Park Chung Hee, Republic of Korea

In 1971, President Park Chung-hee was re-elected to a third term, contrary to the current Constitution (he had already won the elections twice in 1963). The country adopted a new Constitution, which greatly expanded his powers, also increased the presidential term to six years and removed restrictions on the number of re-elections. Park's stable rule resulted in significant growth in the South Korean economy, but domestic civil liberties were suppressed and counterintelligence arrested and tortured opponents of the regime. In the late 1970s, the opposition began to take to the streets, and mass demonstrations turned into riots. Several attempts were made on the president's life; The attempt of a professional, the director of the Korean Central Intelligence Agency, Kim Jae-gyu, who shot Park in October 1979, was successful. The killer explained his act by saying that the regime was hindering the democratic development of the country. On May 24, 1980, he and his accomplices were hanged. There is a version that the murder was an attempt by the special services to stage a coup.

Muhammad Anwar al-Sadat, Egypt

Muhammad Anwar al-Sadat, whose eclectic worldview was heavily influenced by the first president of the Turkish Republic, Mustafa Kemal, the nonviolent protester Mahatma Gandhi, and the German National Socialist Fuhrer Adolf Hitler, was elected president of Egypt in 1970. Having taken the highest government post, he began to move away from the pan-Arab ideology of his predecessor Gamal Abdel Nasser, many of the former president's supporters were arrested. In the fall of 1981, Islamic fundamentalists took revenge on Sadat for rapprochement with Israel: during a military parade in Cairo, terrorists opened fire on the government podium, on which the head of the country was sitting with Vice President Hosni Mubarak and Minister of War Abu Ghazal. Sadat was wounded in the neck and chest and died in hospital. In addition to him, six more people were killed in the shootout and 28 were wounded. According to the Constitution, Mubarak became the new president of the country.

Silvanus Epifanio Olympio, Togo

In the 1961 elections, the first president of the newly sovereign Togolese Republic, Silvanus Epifanio Olympio, received 99% of the vote. His main goal there was real economic independence of Togo from the former metropolis - France. By denying leadership positions to veterans of the Franco-Algerian War - many career officers of the Togolese army participated in it on the side of the French - Olympio caused discontent among the military elite. In December 1961, opposition leaders were arrested and accused of preparing an anti-government conspiracy. In January 1963, a group of officers organized the first military coup in the history of independent African states, during which Olympio was killed by Sergeant Gnassingbé Eyadema. The republic announced state of emergency, and a provisional government came to power led by Olympio’s opponent Nicholas Grunitzky, who held pro-French views.

Abraham Lincoln, USA

Republican Abraham Lincoln won the 1860 presidential election; under his leadership, victory was achieved over the Confederate States of America in the Civil War of 1861-1865. Slavery was abolished throughout the United States, and Lincoln proposed a plan for Southern reconstruction that included a plan to integrate former black slaves into society. A few days after the end of the war, on April 14, 1865, at the performance of Our American Cousin at Ford's Theater, actor John Wilkes Booth entered Lincoln's box and shot the president in the head. Lincoln died the next morning. Booth was confident that this murder would turn US policy towards the South. He managed to escape from the theater, but on April 26 the police caught up with him in Virginia in a barn, which was immediately set on fire. Sergeant Boston Corbett shot Booth in the neck as he fled the shelter, and he died.

Americans liked killing their presidents. In 1881, three months after his election, James Abram Garfield was seriously shot in the back. The shooter, Charles Guiteau, was declared insane, but was still hanged. 20 years later, anarchist Leon Frank Czolgosz mortally wounded the 25th President of the United States, William McKinley, who died a week later from gangrene. internal organs. Czolgosz was executed in the electric chair. Finally, on November 22, 1963, John Kennedy was mortally wounded by a rifle shot while he and his wife were riding in an open limousine along Elm Street in Dallas. According to the official version, the murder was committed by Lee Harvey Oswald, who was shot two days later at the exit from the police station in front of the convoy, but there are an endless number of conspiracy theories surrounding the Kennedy assassination, according to which Oswald played the role of a scapegoat, and the real killers of the president escaped responsibility.

In the history of the United States, four presidents have been assassinated.

First high-profile murder occurred on April 14, 1865. Then the famous liberation president Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. Lincoln assumed the presidency in 1861. He was known throughout America as an opponent of slavery, which immediately alienated wealthy planters from the future president. The election of Lincoln caused the southern states, whose economy was directly dependent on the use of slave labor, to secede from the United States. Southerners created their own Confederation and began to defend their independence with arms in hand. Thus began the famous four-year Civil War between North and South. Lincoln himself commanded the troops of the North and managed to defeat the southerners, preventing the collapse of the country.

The President still had hard work to do: pass a constitutional amendment banning slavery throughout the country; carry out Southern Reconstruction; integrate thousands of former slaves into a free society. But these plans were not destined to come true. Just a few days after the end of the war, while Lincoln was in the theater, the American president was mortally wounded by Southern agent John Wilkes Booth. The next morning, Lincoln died, his funeral was held with extreme pomp. Millions of people across the country mourned their president. In the people's memory, Lincoln remained a national hero and fighter against injustice.

On July 2, 1881, lawyer Charles Guiteau attempted to assassinate another president, Republican James Garfield. Guiteau was once a supporter of Garfield, hoping to occupy a high position in the presidential team. But this did not happen, and Guiteau decided to take revenge for his unsuccessful career. One summer morning, an assassin waylaid the president at a train station and shot him in the back. The wound turned out to be shallow, but due to inept treatment, Garfield developed sepsis, which led to the death of the president in September of the same year.

Another victim was also a representative of the Republican Party, William McKinley. The assassination attempt took place on September 6, 1901, right at the World's Fair in Buffalo. The president's assassin was radical anarchist Leon Czolgosz, who lost his job during the economic crisis of 1893. Czolgosz believed that he was accomplishing a feat by ridding the state of a tyrant and exploiter. At the exhibition, McKinley, as usual, was practically unguarded and eagerly communicated with the public. Czolgosz shot the president in the stomach when he extended his hand to greet him. After 8 days, the seriously wounded McKinley died.

On November 22, 1963, the fourth American president was assassinated, which became perhaps the most famous and mysterious crime of the twentieth century. On this day, John Kennedy died from a bullet fired by Lee Harvey Oswald. Kennedy fundamentally changed American politics. After the Cuban missile crisis, when the world was on the verge of nuclear war, the president made a number of compromises with the Soviet Union, reducing the pace of the arms race. He also took a number of steps aimed at eradicating discrimination against the black population.

In November 1963, Kennedy and his wife arrived in Dallas. It was planned that the presidential motorcade would pass through the city streets, and then Kennedy would give a speech at the local Trade Center. Along the entire route of the President’s motorcade, crowds of residents met, but before Shopping center the solemn procession never arrived. In front of thousands of witnesses, an unknown shooter fired several bullets at the president, wounding Texas Governor Connally as well. Half an hour after the assassination attempt, Kennedy died. The suspect turned out to be former Marine Oswald, who, however, denied his guilt. Literally two days later, when Oswald was escorted to prison, he was killed by nightclub owner Jack Ruby. Ruby motivated his action by the fact that he wanted to avenge his beloved president.

Since there were many blank spots left in the official investigation, the assassination of the president gave rise to a lot of conspiracy theories. According to polls, over 2/3 of Americans do not believe in the generally accepted version of the president’s death. Some believe that the roots of the crime stretch back to the Pentagon, and some - that to the Soviet Union or Cuba. But for now, all this remains just speculation.

I remembered stories worthy of individuals who fell victim to murderers. From Ancient World to the present day. The personal qualities of these people can be debated endlessly, but they all made significant contributions to the development of their countries.
My list of the seven slain rulers in chronological order.

Gaius Julius Caesar (102 BC - 44 BC), died at 57 years old

One of the most bright characters history of ancient Rome. Commander and politician. Thanks to Caesar, Rome reached prosperity and power.

The organizers of the conspiracy were senators Gaius Cassius Longinus and Marcus Junius Brutus. Presumably, Brutus was the illegitimate son of Caesar and therefore enjoyed his patronage and trust.

Sculptural portrait of Julius Caesar

Thanks to his unlimited influence, Caesar received the title of dictator for life. Usually the dictator Ancient Rome appointed for a period of no more than six months to perform a specific political or military task. The dictator's powers were removed after completing the mission. All decisions of the dictator were made with the approval of the Senate, but Caesar wanted to rule alone. The influence of the Senate weakened, and, of course, the senators did not approve of the growth of Caesar's sole power.

Marcus Junius Brutus. There is even a version that Brutus is the illegitimate son of Caesar.
Although Caesar is only 15 years older than Brutus.

Friends warned Caesar and suggested strengthening his security, to which the ruler replied:
“It is better to die once than to constantly expect death.”

Gaius Julius Caesar was assassinated at a meeting of the Senate on March 15, 44 BC. The murder weapons were writing sticks (weapons were not allowed to be brought into the meeting). None of the conspirators wanted to take Caesar's blood upon themselves, so they decided that each would deliver one blow. The assassins inflicted 23 wounds on Caesar, from which the ruler died.

Another portrait of Caesar

According to one version, the dying Caesar, seeing Brutus among the conspirators, said:
“And you, my child?”
Researchers, biographers - admirers of Caesar consider his murder to be the beginning of the decline of the Roman Empire; the history of Rome could have turned out differently.

Assassination of Caesar in the Senate.
Rice. K.T. von Piloty

Henry IV (1553 – 1610), died at 56

This king of France is known to many from the novels of Alexandre Dumas and Heinrich Mann.
He received the royal crown of France in 1589 at the age of 36.

Portrait of Henry as Mars

During his reign, the French treasury began to steadily replenish. Peace was concluded with Spain. Freedom of religion is allowed. The period of feudal fragmentation is over, France is united into one strong state.
The king liked to repeat that he cared about the welfare of his citizens and wanted “every subject to be able to put a chicken in a pot on Sundays.”
At the same time, his rule is associated with tough internal politics. Henry executes those suspected of conspiracies and suppresses peasant uprisings.

King Henry IV in his youth.
As he himself recalled, “My best years were spent in debauchery and drunkenness, that’s why they are the best.”

The beginning of the sad finale of Henry's reign is new war with Spain, which was prompted by religious confrontations between Catholics and Protestants.
On May 14, 1610, Henry was assassinated by the Catholic fanatic François Ravaillac, a schoolteacher. Taking advantage of the crush on a Parisian street, the killer jumped onto the steps of the royal carriage and stabbed the king with a dagger.
Henry exclaimed: “I am wounded!”
The second blow of the dagger to the lung was fatal.

Assassination of King Henry IV

Margot (1553-1615).
The first wife of Henry, then still the king of the province of Navarre. She got married at 19 years old.
After 27 years life together, Henry divorced Margot because they had no children.

Maria de Medici (1575-1642),
The king's second wife. Married to a 47-year-old king at the age of 25.

The king's murderer was sentenced to death, but the crowd did not allow the sentence to be carried out, tearing the murderer to pieces in the square with their own hands. After Ravaillac's death, all his relatives and namesakes were ordered to change their surname.

Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865), died at 56

16th President of the United States (1861-1865), who became a national hero, famous for the abolition of slavery. During his reign, there was a civil war between the North and the South, described in Margaret Mitchell's novel Gone with the Wind.

Portrait of A. Lincoln in the White House

Contemporaries recalled that in his youth the future president was quick-tempered, loved to criticize others and even fought a duel.
Became president at age 52.

Lincoln in his youth

On April 14, 1865, the play My American Cousin was being performed at Ford's Theater when actor John Wilkes Booth entered the President's box and shot Lincoln in the head. The President died the next day without regaining consciousness.

Lincoln - presidential candidate

John Wilkes Booth - Lincoln Assassin
The ashes of Lincoln's son William, who died three years ago, were reburied next to him in Oak Ridge Cemetery.
Lincoln had four sons, three of whom died in childhood.

Alexander II (1818-1881), died at 62

Russian Emperor Alexander II, a reformer tsar who abolished serfdom. He ascended the throne at the age of 38.
The era of his reign became a new stage in the development of Russia. Although his policies were subject to severe criticism.

The last photo of the emperor

The future emperor in his youth
Rice. N. Schiavoni

Several attempts were made on Alexander II's life:

1. In April 1866, when Alexander II was heading from the gate Summer Garden to his carriage, terrorist D. Karagozov shot at him. The king survived thanks to the peasant Osip Komisarov, who pushed the killer. The bullet flew past the emperor.

After the miraculous rescue of the king, a song appeared among the people:

In sixty-six
God carried the misfortune past.
Let's knock, knock, bowl into bowl
Honor to God, praise to the Tsar!
They will not die in our descendants
Alexandrov's affairs.
Let's knock, knock, bowl into bowl
Honor to God, praise to the Tsar!
Komissarov flew up
And he managed to save the king.
Let's knock, knock, bowl into bowl
Honor to God, praise to the Tsar!
The black cloud has passed -
The bullet bypassed the Tsar.
Let's knock, knock, bowl into bowl
Honor to God, praise to the Tsar!

2. In 1867, Alexander II was in Paris at the invitation of the French Emperor Napoleon III. Terrorist A. Berezovsky shot at Alexander II, who was riding in the same carriage with Napoleon III in the Bois de Boulogne, the bullet hit the horse.

3. In April 1879, in St. Petersburg, terrorist A. Solovyov shot five times at the emperor with a revolver, but missed.

4. In November 1879, terrorists blew up railway near Moscow, along which the royal train was supposed to follow. The assassination failed. The emperor's train passed earlier.

Assassination of the Emperor

5. In February 1880, an explosion occurred on the first floor of the Winter Palace, where the dining hall was located. The king was saved by being late for dinner.

6. In the summer of 1880, terrorists planted dynamite under the Stone Bridge across the Catherine Canal, but the murder again failed.

Eight assassination attempts were predicted for Alexander II.
The prediction came true.

Alexander in childhood with his sister Maria

On March 1 (13 New Style), 1881, a bomb was thrown by the Narodnaya Volya terrorist Rysakov into the royal carriage driving along the embankment of the Catherine Canal (now the Griboyedov Canal) (the seventh attempt). The Tsar, who was not hit by the bomb, got out of the carriage and, together with passing townspeople, began to provide assistance to the victims. At that moment, at 2:25 a.m., terrorist Grinevitsky threw a bomb (eighth attempt). Alexander II died from his wounds an hour later in the Winter Palace.
The eighth attempt turned out to be fatal for Alexander II.

Sofya Perovskaya, who signaled the terrorists by waving her handkerchief.
An obedient well-bred young lady from a noble family,
which no one could suspect of conspiring with the murderers.

Regicide I. Grinevitsky.
"Good boy" from a noble, handsome family.
All the killer maniacs in Everyday life seemed positive people,
and no one could suspect them.

Emperor on his deathbed
Rice. K. Makovsky

According to legend, a woman appeared to young Alexander in the Anichkov Palace, who also said that he was destined to survive several assassination attempts.

Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948), died at 78

Spiritual leader of India in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
One of the leaders of the movement for Indian independence from Great Britain. Adopted a policy of boycotting British goods and institutions.
He sought to end caste inequality and reconcile warring Hindus and Muslims.
He gained popular love for his policy of non-violence.

Mahatma Gandhi

Mahatma Gandhi in his youth

Mahatma Gandhi survived one assassination attempt by a terrorist who threw a homemade bomb at the spiritual leader. No harm done.
To persistent proposals from his comrades to strengthen security, Gandhi replied:
“If I am destined to die from a madman’s bullet, I will do it with a smile.”

Mahatma Gandhi and Indira Nehru in childhood (the future Indira Gandhi)

The assassin Nathuram Godse waylaid Mahatma Gandhi on his way to the temple. Taking advantage of the crowd that greeted their leader, he shot at the “father of the people” three times.
Dying Gandhi said “Oh, Rama! Oh, Rama!”, showing with gestures that he forgives the murderer.

Mahatma Gandhi died on January 20, 1948 at 5:17 p.m.
The investigation established that the perpetrator of the murder acted with the help of 8 accomplices. The two conspirators were sentenced to death by hanging.

John Kennedy (1917-1963), died at 46

35th President of the United States (1960-1863). He assumed the presidency at the age of 43.
Kennedy was elected president 99 years after the election of Lincoln, whose fate was also tragic.

In foreign policy Kennedy advocated improving relations between the United States and the USSR. Showed himself as wise politician during the Cuban Missile Crisis, when the world was on the brink of war.

Portrait of John Kennedy in the White House
Rice. A. Schickler

Photo of John and Jacqueline Kennedy during a visit to Dallas,
a few minutes before the assassination of the president

Kennedy's peaceful policy drew sharp criticism from the militant opposition. The press called the president a “muslin lady,” accusing him of cowardice. Kennedy responded to the attacks of his opponents: “Talking about war is easier than fighting.”

The President was assassinated on November 22, 1963 in Dallas, Texas, while driving in an open car through the city. The assassin, who was on the sixth floor of the book warehouse, shot the president three times. One sniper bullet hit the neck, the other hit the head. The president died half an hour later after the assassination attempt.

Kennedy assassination

The president's wife, Jacqueline Kennedy, was in the car next to her husband, who died in her arms.
She agreed to appear on television immediately after her husband's murder. But she refused to change her bloody dress, “I want them to see what they did!” - said Jacqueline.

Dallas was disdainful of John Kennedy's visit. On the eve of the president's arrival, mocking notes flashed in the press, and Kennedy's characteristic accent was paraded on the radio.

Suspect Lee Harvey Oswald

Lee Harvey Oswald, who denied any involvement in the crime, was detained on suspicion of Kennedy's murder.
The suspect was shot and killed Nov. 24 while being transferred from the police department to the county jail. A certain Jack Ruby broke out of the crowd and shot Oswald, who died in a Dallas hospital, where Kennedy's body was brought two days earlier.

Assassination of Oswald

A common theory is that Jack Ruby acted on orders from the president's assassins to cover his tracks by leaving suspicion on Oswald. Ruby (the nightclub owner) has been noted to have a connection with underworld. Witnesses confirmed that they saw Ruby in the hospital where the president's body was brought. Speculation arose that he was involved in falsifying evidence.

The court sentenced Ruby to death for the murder of the suspect, but the verdict was challenged.
Ruby died in January 1967 in the same hospital where Oswald was taken and where Kennedy's body was taken. Jack Ruby's death sparked rumors that he had been eliminated as a witness.

Jacqueline Kennedy (1929-1994)

John and Jacqueline Kennedy

Jacqueline Kennedy (née Bouvier) wedding dress, 1953.
She got married at 24. John is 12 years older than Jackie.

Marilyn Monroe at a party in honor of John F. Kennedy's birthday.
The actress performed the hit "Happy Birthday". They said that Monroe arrived drunk.

The orderers and perpetrators of the assassination of John Kennedy still remain unknown.

Video chronicle

Congratulations to Marilyn Monroe

Kennedy assassination

Indira Gandhi, née Nehru (1917-1984), died at 66

Daughter of Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India.
Political career started after my father's death in 1964. She won the parliamentary elections in 1971, and in her election campaign she focused on the fight against poverty. The period of her reign is associated with the economic and industrial rise of India, the nationalization of banks, and the improvement of political relations with the USSR.
Gandhi pursued a tough policy against the opposition, “freedom of speech” was suppressed.

Indira Gandhi

Indira accompanies her father on a visit to London

Indira Gandhi in her youth

The religious conflict between Hindus and Sikhs (a religious movement that arose on the basis of Hinduism and Islam) played a fatal role in the fate of Indira Gandhi.
Sikhs attempted separatism in the state of Punjab. The militants' base became the Golden Temple. As in any religious war, civilians suffered. Sikhs, who were the majority in Punjab, killed Hindus.
In June 1984, Indira Gandhi ordered troops into the state, and the military operation killed 500 people.
In October 1984, the Sikhs carried out a revenge plan.

Indira Gandhi and Jacqueline Kennedy

Indira Gandhi during a visit to Australia, 1968

“Indira Gandhi was shot at point-blank range at her residence on Safdarjang Road by Sikh security guards Satwan Singh, Balbar and Keharu Singh. 20 bullets were found in I. Gandhi's body. This event resulted in large-scale riots during which thousands of people died. Crowds of Hindus, distraught with grief, mercilessly dealt with the Sikhs, burning their houses and shops. (According to some sources, about 30 thousand Sikhs were killed in those days.)"- KGB General Valery Velichko.

Funeral of Indira Gandhi.
The body was cremated according to Indian custom.

Indina Gandhi's son, Rajiv (1944-1991), headed the Indian government after the assassination of his mother.
In 1991 (at the age of 46) he was killed by a suicide bomber.
the girl presented him with a bouquet of flowers in which a bomb was planted.

The Brazilian prosecutor's office yesterday charged the country's former president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, with money laundering charges. In light of this fact, AKIpress decided to recall the presidents of which countries were charged.

Former President of Kyrgyzstan Kurmanbek Bakiev

K. Bakiev was the President of Kyrgyzstan from 2005 to 2010

In 2010, there were mass opposition protests demanding Bakiyev’s resignation. Clashes between oppositionists and police on April 7, 2010 escalated into a revolution, during which opposition supporters captured the capital Bishkek and the main administrative buildings. Bakiyev fled from the capital to the Jalal-Abad region.

On April 16, 2010, while in Kazakhstan, K. Bakiev signed a statement of resignation from the post of President of Kyrgyzstan. Since April 19, he has been in Belarus, where President Alexander Lukashenko granted him political asylum.

Former President of Kyrgyzstan Kurmanbek Bakiyev, former head of the SCD Zhanysh Bakiyev and former Prime Minister Daniyar Usenov received life sentences in the case related to the events of April 7, 2010. The verdict was read out by Judge Damir Onolbekov on July 25, 2014.

According to the judge, their guilt has been fully proven. Thus, the court found three defendants guilty of the mass shooting of demonstrators on the square near the White House. All three were convicted in absentia because they are outside Kyrgyzstan.

In addition, on April 4 of the same year, the Pervomaisky District Court of the city of Bishkek convicted former President of Kyrgyzstan Kurmanbek Bakiev and members of his family - brother Zhanysh Bakiev, sons Marat and Maxim Bakiev in the case of the contract killing of British businessman Sean Daly (Sh. Daly survived ). The decision was made by the presiding judge K. Arkharova.

Thus, Kurmanbek Bakiev was sentenced to 25 years in prison with confiscation of property and serving the sentence in a high-security correctional colony (by adding the previously imposed sentence by the verdict of the Military Court of the Bishkek Garrison dated February 11, 2013).

Zhanysh Bakiev was sentenced to life imprisonment with confiscation of property and serving the sentence in a correctional colony special regime(by adding the previously imposed punishment according to the verdict of the Military Court of the Bishkek Garrison dated February 11, 2013).

Marat Kurmanbekovich Bakiev was sentenced to 20 years in prison with confiscation of property and serving the sentence in a high-security correctional colony.

Bakiev Maxim Kurmanbekovich was sentenced to life imprisonment with confiscation of property and serving his sentence in a special regime correctional colony.

The fugitive ex-president, in addition, was charged with other charges.

Former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic

In May 1999, the Hague Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia indicted former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic for war crimes in Kosovo in 1999.

Milosevic and four senior Yugoslav leaders were charged with five counts of crimes against humanity - murder, persecution on political, racial and religious grounds, deportation - and one count of violating the laws or customs of war. According to the indictment, the defendants are responsible for the expulsion from Kosovo of about 750 thousand ethnic Albanians, which is almost one third of the entire Albanian population of the province.

Former President of Serbia from 1989 to 1997 and ex-President of Yugoslavia from 1997 to 2000

On April 1, 2001, Milosevic was arrested under Yugoslav law on criminal charges (abuse of office and association in groups to commit criminal offenses).

On June 28, 2001, former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic was tried at the Hague International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and transferred to the UN prison in The Hague. On July 3, 2001, his first meeting with the ICTY judges took place. The ex-president refused the services of lawyers, saying that the Hague court is illegal and he does not recognize it.

Due to deteriorating health, the trial of Slobodan Milosevic was interrupted 22 times. On March 11, 2006, Slobodan Milosevic was found dead in his cell in the Hague Tribunal prison. He died from heart attack. 3 days later, on March 14, 2006, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia closed the case of Slobodan Milosevic.

Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein

The government of Saddam Hussein fell on April 17, 2003. The Americans and their coalition allies established control over the entire country by May 1, 2003. For about six months, Saddam Hussein managed to hide from the Americans, however, in December 2003, he was captured near his hometown of Tikrit. After this, the former Iraqi leader was taken from Iraqi territory and placed at an American military base in Qatar.

Saddam Hussein was President of Iraq from 1979 to 2003

On July 17, a special Iraqi tribunal handed down the first criminal charges against Saddam. Hussein was accused of killing 148 Shia Muslims from the village of Dujail in 1982. According to the prosecution, the executions of the peasants were carried out in retaliation for a failed assassination attempt on the president, which occurred while his motorcade was passing through the village. In addition, the ex-dictator was accused of 12 more counts, each of which fell under the article “crimes against humanity.”

On February 28, at the trial of Saddam Hussein, his closest associates, the prosecutor showed a document that became “one of the most significant evidence of the guilt of the former Iraqi president.” Jafar al-Musawi, representing the prosecution, showed the people gathered in the courtroom an order for the execution of 148 Shiites who were suspected of organizing the assassination attempt on Saddam.

On July 25, Saddam was brought to court. According to the ex-president of Iraq, he was brought there “by force.” He refused the assistance of court-appointed lawyers, calling them "enemies of the people" receiving instructions from "Canadian and American spies." The court decided to provide Saddam Hussein with new defenders.

The last court hearing took place on July 27. The chief prosecutor at this trial demanded that Saddam Hussein be sentenced to death. On November 5, the court found Hussein guilty and sentenced him to death by hanging.

Former President of Ivory Coast Laurent Gbagbo

At the International Criminal Court in The Hague on January 28, 2016, the trial of former Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo and his assistant Charles Blé Goude began. Both defendants refused to admit their guilt in the organization. general plan which led to large-scale killings, rapes, persecutions and other inhumane acts."

Laurent Gbabgo was the President of Ivory Coast from 2000 to 2011

The armed conflict in Côte d'Ivoire, which claimed the lives of about 3 thousand people, arose at the end of 2010 against the backdrop of an uncertain situation with the results of the second round of presidential elections.

The Central Election Commission then named former Prime Minister Alassane Ouattara as the new president, however, the Constitutional Council declared incumbent President Gbagbo the winner, while annulling the voting results in seven regions in the north that supported Ouattara. Both of them took the oath, stood up for Ouattara global community, which helped him overthrow Gbagbo and come to power.

Laurent Gbagbo and Charles Blé Goudet are the most senior politicians ever to appear before the International Criminal Court since its creation in 2002. They are accused of crimes against humanity that were committed between December 16, 2010 and April 12, 2011 and consisted, in particular, of shelling densely populated areas of the cities of Abobo and Yopougon. The former president of Côte d'Ivoire was handed over to the ICC on November 30, 2011, and his assistant on March 22, 2014.

Former French President Jacques Chirac

In December 2011, former French President Jacques Chirac received a two-year suspended sentence for embezzling funds from public funds while working at the Paris City Hall.

A Paris court has found former French President Jacques Chirac guilty of two counts of corruption.

Jacques Chirac served as President of France from 1995 to 1997

The ex-head of state embezzled cash from public trust funds and abused his official powers while serving as mayor of Paris from 1977 to 1995.

In addition, Chirac was charged with creating fictitious jobs at the Paris City Hall from 1990 to 1995. Under French law, such offenses are punishable by up to 10 years in prison, as well as a fine of 150 thousand euros. Nevertheless, the 79-year-old politician received a suspended sentence of two years.

Former Liberian President Charles Taylor

On May 30, 2012, the Special Tribunal for Sierra Leone in Leidschendam, the Netherlands, sentenced former Liberian President Charles Taylor to 50 years in prison.

A month earlier, a court found him guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Charles Taylor was President of Liberia from 1997 to 2003

The indictment alleges that Taylor's tenure as President of Liberia from 1991 to 2002 civil war in neighboring Sierra Leone, he armed and supported militants who terrorized the population of that country and sought to take control of the diamond deposits. The conflict has led to the death of more than 120 thousand people.

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir

In 2015, the International Criminal Court (ICC) demanded that the South African government arrest and extradite Omar al-Bashir, accused of crimes against humanity and genocide.

Omar Al-Bashir has been President of Sudan since 1993

Al-Bashir is the only sitting head of state in Africa whose extradition is being sought by the court in The Hague. Despite the international arrest warrants issued, the President of Sudan has previously visited countries that are members of the ICC, but was not arrested.

The court has strong grounds to assert that Omar al-Bashir is guilty of genocide against three ethnic minorities: the Fur, the Masalit and the Zaghawa, the court said in an official statement. For the purpose of mass extermination, representatives of these nationalities were killed, severe physical and mental injuries were inflicted on them, and living conditions were created for them designed for their physical destruction.

Former Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali

The Tunisian President from 1987 to 2011, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, was overthrown as a result of the so-called “Jasmine Revolution.”

After riots that killed more than 80 people, Ben Ali fled Tunisia with his family to Saudi Arabia, where he received political asylum.

Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali 1987-2011

On June 20, 2011, a Tunisian court sentenced bin Ali and his wife Leila Trabelsi in absentia to 35 years in prison each. In addition to imprisonment, the court ordered the couple to pay a fine of 91 million Tunisian dollars (65.5 million US dollars).

In total, over 90 charges were brought against Ben Ali.

On July 4, 2011, a Tunisian court sentenced the former Tunisian president to 15.5 years in prison and a fine of 54 thousand euros for possession of weapons and drugs. And on November 30 of the same year, judges decided to sentence the former head of state to another five years in prison for his involvement in the torture of 17 armed forces officers in 1991.

On June 13, 2012, Ben Ali was sentenced in absentia by the Tunisian Military Tribunal to life imprisonment on charges of killing more than 300 people during the crackdown on demonstrations in early 2011.

And on July 19, 2012, the tribunal sentenced Ben Ali in absentia for the second time to life imprisonment on charges of involvement in the murder of 43 demonstrators during the Jasmine Revolution.

Former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori

Former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori initiated a “self-coup” in 1992, which was the overthrow of his own government in order to expand presidential powers.

Having dissolved the Congress, in November 1992 Fujimori held new elections, achieving a majority for his own party created before the elections.

Alberto Fujimori was President of Peru from 1990 to 2000

In April 2009, Fujimori was found guilty of human rights violations and sentenced to 25 years in prison. This is the first time in Latin America when democratically elected head State was convicted in connection with similar charges. In particular, the court found it proven that Fujimori was involved in the murders of 15 people in Barrios Altos district in November 1991, as well as in the kidnapping and murder of 9 students and a teacher at the University of La Cantuta (Lima) in July 1992. In addition, the ex-president was convicted in a number of cases related to corruption and embezzlement of public funds.