David Wallechinsky's list of this year's World's Worst Dictators stops at 20. But he concedes the list could be a lot longer."There are more than 70 countries ruled by dictators who exercise arbitrary authority over their citizens and who cannot be removed from power through legal means. These tyrants suppress the freedoms of speech and religion, and the right to a fair trial. Some also commit torture, execute opponents and starve their own people."
So who did Wallechinsky finally decide on?
1) Omar al-Bashir, Sudan
2) Kim Jong-il, North Korea (photo above right)
3) Sayyid Ali KhamEnei, Iran
4) Hu Jintao, China
5) King Abdullah, Saudi Arabia
6) Than Shwe, Burma (Myanmar)
7) Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe
8) Islam Karimov, Uzbekistan
9) Muammar al-Qaddafi, Libya
10) Bashar al-Assad, Syria
11) Teodoro Obiang Nguema, Equatorial Guinea
12) King Mswati III, Swaziland
13) Isayas Afewerki, Eritrea
14) Aleksandr Lukashenko, Belarus
15) Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan
16) Choummaly Sayasone, Laos
17) Meles Zenawi, Ethiopia
18) Hosni Mubarak, Egypt
19) Paul Biya, Cameroon
20) Vladimir Putin, Russia
