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Donald Trump's indictment first for US but not world: Leaders who faced charges
Donald Trump Indictment: Donald Trump's indictment is a first for a former US President but not unprecedented worldwide.
Former US President Donald Trump said last week following his indictment in New York that "the USA is now a third-world nation" while other Republicans decried against the case saying that the US was becoming like "some third-world banana republic." Donald Trump's indictment is a first for a former US President but not unprecedented worldwide.
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With the charges, Donald Trump joins the ranks of other former leaders who were charged following their tenure in office in cases relating to corruption among others. The list includes former Italian prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, who was involved in nearly three dozen criminal cases, with one conviction for tax fraud in 2012.
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was also indicted in 2020 on corruption charges. Former Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian was convicted of bribery as well in 2009.
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Countries like France, South Korea and Brazil have seen leaders prosecuted for crimes. Nearly 80 nations having seen former leaders jailed or prosecuted over the last 20 years, Axios reported.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva returned to the office in January after defeating Jair Bolsonaro but was sentenced to 12 years on corruption charges in 2018. Former French Prime Minister Nicolas Sarkozy was sentenced to a year in prison in 2021. South Korea’s former President Park Geun-hye was sentenced to 24 years over corruption charges in 2021 before being pardoned.
Leaders from Malaysia, Pakistan and Argentina have also seen charges relating to fraud and corruption.
