For a sitting head of state, presidential immunity can feel like an impenetrable shield, placing them above the very laws they are sworn to uphold.

But what happens when their term ends and that shield disappears?

For a number of former world leaders, this transition was a harsh awakening to accountability, as they found themselves standing in the dock as ordinary citizens.

From bombshell corruption scandals to failed coups, here is a look at the countries that have held their once-untouchable leaders to account and put them behind bars.

Jair Bolsonaro, president from 2019 to 2022, was sentenced to 27 years and three months in prison on September 11, 2025, by the Supreme Court for plotting a coup to overturn the 2022 election results.

He remains free while his case is under appeal.

Now 70, Bolsonaro resides in Brasília but is barred from running for office until 2030.

He served about two months before being released on medical parole.

Although courts later deemed his parole unlawful, he was released again just hours after a brief return to custody in August 2023.

Now 83, Zuma lives freely in KwaZulu-Natal but still faces ongoing legal battles.

Hosni Mubarak, who ruled from 1981 until the 2011 Arab Spring uprising, was sentenced to three years in prison on May 21, 2015, for embezzling public funds to upgrade his family’s palaces.

On December 14, 2019, a court in Khartoum sentenced him to two years in a low-security facility for corruption and receiving illegal kickbacks.

As of September 2025, the 81-year-old is being held in a military hospital in Khartoum amid Sudan’s ongoing civil war.

Her initial 24-year sentence was later reduced to 20 years on appeal.

After serving nearly five years, she received a presidential pardon on December 24, 2021, due to her declining health.

Now 73, Park lives a quiet life in Seoul.

Lee Myung-bak, Park’s predecessor (2008-2013), was sentenced to 15 years in prison on October 5, 2018, for bribery and embezzlement related to an auto parts company he secretly owned.

He served about four years before receiving a presidential pardon on December 27, 2022, citing his advanced age and health issues.

At 83, Lee is now retired from politics and resides in Seoul.

Imran Khan, who served as prime minister from 2018 to 2022, was handed a 10-year prison sentence on January 30, 2024, for leaking state secrets.

Just a day later, he was sentenced to an additional 14 years in a separate corruption case.

Although he was granted bail in August 2025 for other charges, he remains imprisoned on these convictions.

As of September 2025, the 72-year-old is in Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi, with his appeals still pending.

Nawaz Sharif has been prime minister three times, with his last term ending in 2017.

On July 6, 2018, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison for corruption linked to his family’s ownership of luxury London apartments.

Now 75, Sharif is back to leading his political party from Lahore.

The sentence was upheld in August 2022. In January 2024, Malaysia’s king halved his sentence to six years and reduced his fines.

With money laundering charges dropped in June 2025, the 72-year-old is currently serving his time in Kajang Prison while continuing to seek house arrest through a judicial review as of August 2025.

Thaksin Shinawatra, who was prime minister from 2001 until a 2006 coup, was sentenced in absentia to two years in prison on September 21, 2008, for abuse of power.

After returning from a long self-exile in August 2023, he began serving his time in a hospital.

A royal pardon reduced his consolidated eight-year sentence to one year.

However, on September 9, 2025, the Supreme Court ruled he must serve that year in a proper prison.

The 76-year-old is now back in custody in Bangkok.

Aung San Suu Kyi, the country’s de facto leader from 2016 until a military coup in 2021, was given a combined sentence of 27 years by military courts between 2021 and 2024.

The charges included corruption, election fraud, and breaching state secrets laws. She remains in detention with no release date.

As of September 2025, the 80-year-old is being held in a Naypyidaw prison, reportedly in declining health.

Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, who was president from 2007 to 2015, was sentenced to six years in prison on December 6, 2022, for fraudulent administration of public works projects.

On June 10, 2025, the Supreme Court upheld the verdict and banned her from holding public office for life.

Just a week later, on June 17, 2025, she was granted house arrest due to her age.

At 72, she is serving her sentence from her home in Buenos Aires and has promised to continue fighting the conviction.

Alberto Fujimori, Peru’s authoritarian president from 1990 to 2000, was sentenced to 25 years in prison on April 7, 2009, for ordering death squads and other human rights abuses.

After a controversial back-and-forth involving a pardon, he was finally released on December 7, 2023, by the constitutional court on humanitarian grounds after serving 16 years.

Now 86, Fujimori lives under certain restrictions in Lima.

On September 3, 2025, he was sentenced to another 13 years and four months for money laundering.

Ehud Olmert, prime minister from 2006 to 2009, was sentenced to 27 months in prison on December 13, 2016, for bribery related to a real estate deal.

Moshe Katsav, president from 2000 to 2007, was sentenced to seven years in prison on December 22, 2011, for the rape and sexual harassment of his aides.

He was released on parole on December 21, 2016, after serving five years. Now 80, Katsav lives a low-profile life in Herzliya.

He was released on parole on July 31, 2025, after serving two-thirds of his sentence. The 72-year-old is now free in Zagreb.