Political trial

A political trial is a criminal case wherein the defendant is tried for reasons considered politically motivated—that is, those with varying degrees of opposition to government policy—in order to effectively silence or discredit them. It generally occurs in states with minimal rule of law protections, alternatively characterized as authoritarian, illiberal, or totalitarian.

Definitions

Trial against behaviours claiming cultural pluralism

T. Becker writes that "in a sense, all trials are political. Since courts are government agencies and judges are part of the 'system' all judicial decisions can be considered political." A political trial is characterized by the fact that public opinion and public attitudes on one or more social questions will inevitably have an effect on the decision.

Political trials can include trials for civil disobedience and other forms of protest against government policy. The government may use prosecution to frighten potential supporters and sympathizers of a movement, and to discredit a movement and compel its members to spend time, money and energy avoiding conviction and imprisonment. A defendant in a political trial may offer a "legal defense" or a "political defense". A technical defense would argue that the alleged crime did not occur as a matter of fact or law. In a political defense, a defendant may assert the political motivations behind the conduct in an attempt to convince the jury or the public of the justness of the political motivations and of the injustice of the prosecution.

It has been suggested that in political cases justice will be better served if the lists used to impanel jurors are more complete and if challenges and excuses are minimized, in order to ensure that the jury more accurately reflects the diversity of the community.