The dramatic uprisings that ousted the long-standing leaders of several countries in the Arab region have set in motion an unprecedented period of social, political and legal transformation. Prosecutions of former leaders and other high-ranking government officials have emerged as the single most pursued route of transitional justice - something which was almost non-existent prior to the uprisings in the Arab region.

This panel will address the question of the prosecution of political leaders in the Arab region, with a focus on four countries whose leaders were ousted during the Arab Spring uprisings: Egypt, Libya, Tunisia and Yemen.  The panel will also benefit from the intervention of a discussant with expertise on Latin America.  Latin America’s varied experiences with transitional justice since the 1970’s will provide a strong case for comparison, especially as much of the transitional justice literature is currently heavy on analyses from that region, with very little yet on the Arab region. 

The following academics and practitioners will make for an exciting panel discussion:

Elin Skaar, Senior Researcher, Chr. Michelsen Institute

Moataz El Fegiry, former executive director, Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies | SOAS Law School

Elham Saudi, Director, Lawyers for Justice in Libya

Greta Barbone, Senior Associate, International Justice Programme, No Peace Without Justice (NPWJ)

Khaled Fattah, Guest Lecturer, Centre for Middle East Studies, Lund University and non-resident scholar on Yemen, Carnegie Middle East Center

For further information, please contact Noha Aboueldahab: (noha.aboueldahab@durham.ac.uk

Supported by:
Centre for Criminal Law and Criminal Justice
Law and Global Justice
Islam, Law and Modernity
Institute for Global Law and Policy, Harvard Law School | Santander Bank