Why It’s Hard to Get Strongmen to Step Down
His trial is often cited as one reason President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, who faced a popular uprising during the Arab Spring
that has devolved into a protracted civil war, has refused to step down.
The popular uprising in his country quickly spread,
and when Mr. Qaddafi refused to budge, the protests evolved into a wide-scale civil war that eventually drew international intervention.
Hosni Mubarak is another example of a leader who held power for years, stepped down — and ended up on trial.
Mr. Mubarak was president of Egypt for 29 years, but faced a popular uprising during the Arab Spring of 2011.
He ultimately resigned after international leaders intervened —
and promised asylum — during talks between the government and rebel factions to try to end Liberia’s war.
But pressure grew for him to be arrested, and he ended up standing trial in an international court for war crimes for his
role in neighboring Sierra Leone’s decade-long civil war, charged with murder, sexual slavery and using child soldiers.
