show trial
Propaganda court proceeding
A show trial is a judicial proceeding whose outcome is predetermined, staged to create an appearance of legitimacy while serving political purposes.
The term originated with Soviet trials of the 1930s, where defendants confessed to implausible crimes after coercion.
Now used more loosely for any legal process seen as a political spectacle rather than genuine adjudication: Critics dismissed the hearing as a show trial.
Illegitimate proceeding ignoring procedure
- riggedFraudulently arranged beforehand
- coercedPressured into compliance
- falsifiedMade deliberately inaccurate
- fabricatedInvented, not real
biased · sham · mockery · farce · unjust · corrupt · misconduct · forced confession
Eliminate unwanted elements
- dissidentOpposer of established systems
- StalinismTotalitarian Communist doctrine
- McCarthyismPolitically-motivated accusation without evidence
- witch-huntPersecution of supposed subversives
totalitarianism · authoritarian · repression · gulag · persecution · oppression · tyranny · autocracy
Political art for causes
- disinformationIntentional deceptive falsehoods
- brainwashingCoercive psychological manipulation
- state-controlledRun by government authority
- narrativeAccount of events
fabrication · manipulation · spin · publicity · spectacle · broadcast · televised · public confession
Party facing charges
- prosecutionPursuing legal charges
- verdictOfficial court decision
- sentencingImposing legal punishment
- confessionAdmission of wrongdoing
testimony · evidence · accusation · charges · indictment · conviction · tribunal · dock
kangaroo court
Illegitimate proceeding ignoring procedure
- riggedFraudulently arranged beforehand
- coercedPressured into compliance
- falsifiedMade deliberately inaccurate
fabricated · biased · sham · mockery · farce · unjust · corrupt · misconduct · forced confession · tortured
purge
Eliminate unwanted elements
- dissidentOpposer of established systems
- StalinismTotalitarian Communist doctrine
- McCarthyismPolitically-motivated accusation without evidence
witch-hunt · totalitarianism · authoritarian · repression · gulag · persecution · oppression · tyranny · autocracy · scapegoat
agitprop
Political art for causes
- disinformationIntentional deceptive falsehoods
- brainwashingCoercive psychological manipulation
- state-controlledRun by government authority
narrative · fabrication · manipulation · spin · publicity · spectacle · broadcast · televised · public confession · scripted
defendant
Party facing charges
- prosecutionPursuing legal charges
- verdictOfficial court decision
- sentencingImposing legal punishment
confession · testimony · evidence · accusation · charges · indictment · conviction · tribunal · dock · courtroom
- trialsretrial, mistrial, dry run, practice test, pilot test
- communismMarx, Marxism, Leninism, Lenin, proletariat
- Soviet EraUSSR, Soviet Union, Soviet rule, CCCP, Eastern Bloc
- authoritarianismautocracy, absolutism, despotism, dictatorship, totalitarianism
- false accusationsfalse accusation, false charge, false claim, wrongful accusation, bum rap
- oppressionoppression, tyranny, racism, repression, secret police
show trialfair trial
Impartial judicial proceeding
due process · rule of law · trial by jury · judicial independence · judicial review
show trialpresumption of innocence
Default legal blamelessness
right to counsel · habeas corpus · Miranda rights · acquittal · exoneration
show, trial, shown, showing, showcase, shows, trials, showman, showpiece