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show trial
noun
- (especially in a totalitarian state) the public trial of a political offender conducted chiefly for propagandistic purposes, as to suppress further dissent against the government by making an example of the accused.
show trial
noun
- a trial conducted primarily to make a particular impression on the public or on other nations, esp one that demonstrates the power of the state over the individual
yvlog History and Origins
Origin of show trial1
Example Sentences
As with leaders of autocratic regimes, nothing is too small or insignificant to serve as pretext for a grand show trial meant to demonstrate strong-man dominance over the military.
“I grew up in Miami listening to the stories about the Castro show trials in Cuba,” Florida’s politically pliant Republican senator, Marco Rubio, wailed in Trump’s defense.
They gave his grievance about his having to endure criminal prosecution credence in their story headlined “Trump tells Jersey Shore crowd he’s being forced to endure ‘Biden show trial’ in hush money case.”
He has rejected the charges against him as punishment for standing up to Putin and likened the proceedings to the show trials under Soviet dictator Josef Stalin.
It would look too much like one of those political show trials for opposition leaders in the former Soviet Union that led to pre-ordained executions.
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