There are many dictators around the world who are well-known for their oppressive ruling of countries, such as Kim Jong Un. But there are many others that operate under the radar of the world media. They may not have a direct connection to the West or have a nuclear arsenal at their disposal, but their despotic actions need to be known. So we’ve decided to put together a list of the worst of the worst. Six rulers who have been profiled on OZY and are among the cruelest, most corrupt despots around today. They may hail from countries as different as Eritrea and Laos, but what they share is a shocking disregard for human rights and seemingly unfettered power to persecute their own. 
 
 You may not recognize the name, but this 77-year-old ruler of Uzbekistan has one of the most abysmal human rights records in the world today. For 24 years running, the Central Asian nation near the Caspian Sea has been terrorized by its own leader, who has killed thousands of unarmed protesters, forced children to work in slavelike conditions and imprisoned thousands for their religious beliefs. Karimov has even executed prisoners without a trial, according to our reporting, including boiling a couple to death. Read more here. 
 
 Since taking over Gambia in a 1994 coup, President Jammeh — or “His Excellency,” as he prefers to be called — has ruled the country with a lethal mix of fear, repression and murder. He’s been know to fire into crowds of peaceful protesters, has imprisoned people for suspected witchcraft and, at one depressive point, demanded homosexual persons leave the country within 24 hours or face the possibility of being beheaded. Read more here. 
 
 This 69-year-old has been the president of Eritrea since its 1991 independence, and yet not a single citizen has ever voted for him. And why would they? It’s been 24 years of crushing despotism, where torture is routine, prisons are overstuffed and everyone from the age of 15 to 70 is forced into indefinite military service. Not only that, but Afwerki’s administration has reportedly imprisoned thousands of people based on their political affiliations. Read more here. 
 
 This guy is far from being a noble individual. Mswati has used his concentrated power in Swaziland, the last absolute monarchy in Africa, to feed his every despotic need. For one, he is reported to force young women to marry him whenever the spirit moves him (or about every two years), because polygamy is, no surprise, legal in Swaziland. He’s also not really interested in democracy or feeding the poor or finding jobs for the 23 percent of the population that is currently unemployed. This despot, who became king at 18, has a total of 15 wives and an indefinite number of luxury cars. He may cut a cartoonish figure, but his corrupt ways are no laughing matter. Read more here. 
 
 Condoleezza Rice has called him “Europe’s last dictator,” and he’s playing his role to the hilt. President of Belarus for more than two decades, Lukashenko has ruled the former Soviet state with an iron fist that would make the Kremlin proud. He censors the press, sends human rights activists to labor camps and gets rid of political rivals, either by throwing them in jail or, in the case of his former prime minister and head of the opposition, making them disappear. Read more here. 
 
 The president of Laos may be 79 years old, wear spectacles and have thinning hair, but his mild appearance masks a tyrannical personality. Boasting a record of human rights violations as long as the Mekong River traversing this Southeast Asian country, Sayasone’s government owns all newspapers, TV stations and radio stations, effectively snuffing all free expression. And if anyone manages to rise above these restrictions, they’re bound to be imprisoned or even disappear. Read more here. ||||| Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption President Jammeh: "Only Allah I fear... the others can go to hell" 
 
 The Gambia's President Yahya Jammeh has told the BBC that he will rule for "one billion years", if God wills. 
 
 He said critics who accused him of winning last month's elections through intimidation and fraud could "go to hell". 
 
 The West African regional body Ecowas said the electorate had been "cowed by repression". 
 
 Mr Jammeh, who took power in a coup in 1994, was re-elected with 72% of the figures, official figures show. 
 
 The 46 year old said he did not fear a fate similar to Egypt's ousted President Hosni Mubarak or killed Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. 
 
 "My fate is in the hands of almighty Allah," he told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme. 
 
 Journalist's death 
 
 "I will deliver to the Gambian people and if I have to rule this country for one billion years, I will, if Allah says so." 
 
 The November poll was the fourth since Mr Jammeh overthrew The Gambia's first post-independence leader Dawda Jawara aged just 29. 
 
 I will not bow down before anybody, except the almighty Allah and if they [human rights groups] don't like that can go to hell Yahya Jammeh, The Gambia's president 
 
 Opposition candidates Ousainou Darboe and Hamat Bah took 17% and 11% respectively. 
 
 Mr Darboe called the results "bogus, fraudulent and preposterous". 
 
 The Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) refused to send observers, saying the polls would not be free and fair because voters and the opposition had been "cowed by repression and intimidation". 
 
 The media group Reporters Without Borders (RSF) says there is "absolute intolerance of any form of criticism" in The Gambia, with death threats, surveillance and arbitrary night-time arrests the daily lot of journalists "who do not sing the government's praises". 
 
 In 2004, the editor of the privately owned The Point newspaper, Deyda Hydara, was gunned down, but no-one has been charged over his murder. 
 
 In the BBC interview, Mr Jammeh denied that the government's security agents had killed him. 
 
 President Yahya Jammeh Overthrew The Gambia's first president as a 29-year-old army lieutenant in 1994 
 
 Previously won three widely criticised elections 
 
 Accused of not tolerating opposition or independent journalists 
 
 Claimed in 2007 that he could cure Aids with a herbal concoction 
 
 Warned in 2008 that gay people would be beheaded 
 
 Eight men sentenced to death last year after being accused of plotting to overthrow him 
 
 "Listen to me: Is he the only Gambian who died? Is he better than Gambians who die in accidents, Gambians who die at sea, Gambians who die on their way to Europe?" Mr Jammeh asked. 
 
 "Other people have also died in this country. So why is Deyda Hydara so special?" 
 
 Mr Jammeh said he was not bothered by the criticism of human rights groups. 
 
 "I will not bow down before anybody, except the almighty Allah and if they don't like that they can go to hell," he said. 
 
 In 2007, Mr Jammeh caused controversy by claiming that he could cure Aids with a herbal concoction. 
 
 Later, he also claimed that he could cure infertility among women. 
 
 Medical groups denounced him for making such claims. 
 
 The tiny West African state is a popular tourist destination.
– Kim Jong Un is a terrible, murderous despot, but he's not the only Dr. Evil on the block. Ozy runs through some of the equally ruthless dictators who you've likely never heard of: Alexander Lukashenko: The Belarusian president Condi Rice once called "Europe's last dictator" just got a fifth term in an election that was basically uncontested, reports the AP. Among his charms: A penchant for sending his foes to labor camps, or just making them disappear. King Mswati III: Swaziland's ruler presides over Africa's lone remaining absolute monarchy, and uses his power to marry young girls (15 wives to date) while not doing much in the way of actual ruling (unemployment sits at 23%). Isaias Afwerki: The Eritrean president of 24 years is into torture, imprisoning political foes, and indefinite compulsory military service. Yahya Jammeh: Gambia's president seized power in 1994, and has since fired at peaceful crowds of protesters, tossed suspected witches in jail, and once demanded all gay people leave within 24 hours on threat of being beheaded. For the full list, which includes a mild-mannered 79-year-old who enforces state-sanctioned abductions, head over to Ozy.