show trial

show trial Word Origin noun

1. (especially in a totalitarian state) the public trial of a political offender conducted chiefly for propagandistic purposes, as to suppress further dissent against the government by making an example of the accused.

Origin of show trial First recorded in 1945–50 British Dictionary definitions for show trial show trial noun

1. a trial conducted primarily to make a particular impression on the public or on other nations, esp one that demonstrates the power of the state over the individual