By Mohammed Bello Doka
……Selective Justice: How The West Shields Its Own While Punishing Others
In a development that lays bare the hypocrisy of Western judicial systems, former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has become the first head of state in the country’s history to be fitted with an electronic ankle monitor after being found guilty of corruption. Sarkozy, who once positioned himself as a champion of law and order, will now serve a one-year sentence under house arrest following his conviction for attempting to bribe a magistrate in exchange for confidential information.
Yet, as Sarkozy remains comfortably confined to his Parisian residence—allowed to leave under special conditions—the West continues its crusade of selectively punishing leaders outside its sphere of influence. While African and Middle Eastern leaders accused of financial misconduct are swiftly sanctioned, overthrown, or even indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC), Western leaders enjoy an entirely different fate.
Consider the double standards in action: French authorities have pursued African leaders for financial crimes with unmatched vigor. Figures like former Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo and Sudan’s Omar al-Bashir have been dragged before international courts, their reputations shredded. Meanwhile, Sarkozy, a former leader of a nuclear-armed Western nation, is allowed to serve his sentence in the comfort of his luxurious home. There are no international arrest warrants, no humiliating extraditions, and certainly no threats of military intervention under the guise of “restoring democracy.”
Sarkozy’s legal troubles don’t end with this case. He remains embroiled in a separate trial over alleged illegal campaign financing linked to former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. The irony is deafening—Sarkozy was one of the architects of NATO’s intervention in Libya, which led to Gaddafi’s brutal assassination and plunged the country into chaos. The very man who destabilized an entire region under the pretense of fighting corruption now finds himself convicted of the same crime. But unlike Gaddafi, who was humiliated and executed by Western-backed rebels, Sarkozy gets to wear a mere ankle bracelet.
The West’s duplicity doesn’t stop with Sarkozy. Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, whose role in fabricating intelligence to justify the invasion of Iraq cost countless innocent lives, remains untouched by any legal system. Former U.S. leaders who orchestrated regime changes and war crimes across the Middle East still roam free, making millions from book deals and speaking engagements.
This selective justice system reveals an inconvenient truth: Western leaders are never truly held accountable. When caught, they receive the gentlest of slaps on the wrist, while their non-Western counterparts are paraded before global courts and sentenced to disgraceful ends. Sarkozy’s fate is not a triumph of justice—it is a carefully managed spectacle designed to create an illusion of accountability while preserving Western impunity.
The message is clear: if you are a Western leader, you may face the courts, but you will never face real punishment. If you are an African, Middle Eastern, or Asian leader who defies the Western order, expect to be crushed. Sarkozy’s electronic ankle monitor is not a symbol of justice—it is a reminder that justice in the West is a privilege, not a principle.
