The knives are out when dictators fall from power, but the politics of retribution is rarely clean or cathartic
Mustafa Qadri
guardian.co.uk, Sunday 30 August 2009 17,00 BST
The tables turn quickly in politics, but for dictators the shift from all-powerful to powerless can be rather sudden. Over a period of 12 months, the last Shah of Iran went from feared dictator to refugee who struggled to find asylum in three different continents (including the US, his one-time staunchest supporter).