The good news is that the state has finally decided to crack down on scattered pockets of lawlessness around the country. Not just in Zoniana, but in Pangrati too, where a group of thugs (with or without political cover) destroyed a school that was once a jewel in Athens’s crown.

The important message being sent by the state is that it will not tolerate certain individuals or geographical areas standing above the law. Crime will be followed by punishment and this will be administered, of course, in complete accordance with the law.

We hope the government continues on this course. But for it to gain the moral foothold it needs to promote the rule of law in every corner of the country, it must first crack down on lawlessness in every other domain too.

If justice is to be strong, it must be blind. Not only in relation to defendants, but also vis-a-vis the crime itself. A distinction should be made only in terms of punishment and no crime should go unpunished just because it is considered a minor one.