The leader of Greece's Golden Dawn party, widely viewed as Europe's most violent political force, appeared in court on Saturday night on charges of heading a criminal gang after police mounted an unprecedented crackdown on the neo-fascist party, arresting Nikos Michaloliakos and other key members of his organisation.
After a police operation in which anti-terrorism officers stormed the homes of Golden Dawn politicians across Athens, Michaloliakos and five of his MPs were seized. Fifteen other senior party activists, including a female police officer, were taken into custody accused of fomenting violence as members of a criminal organisation. Reading from a nine-page charge sheet, a public prosecutor accused the far-rightists of murder, extortion and money laundering.
But while its good to see, its also worth noting the hypocrisy here: Golden Dawn has been attacking people for years, beating, stabbing and robbing people. Their MPs have been involved in this from the beginning. And the police have looked the other way (when they're not joining in), and the government has tolerated it all this time. So what's changed?