Justice.

by Capricorner

The former President of Israel has been found guilty on the accusations of two of his former assistants and sentenced to a seven years imprisonment. The present President of Israel declared : We are all equal in the eyes of the law.

A former Cabinet Minister, in Britain, was found guilty of defamation. He had made false statements against a political adversary. He was deprived of his seat in Parliament and was expelled from the Labor party, whose vice-president declared that it is not in the party’s political ways to win elections with false statements.

Compare the above examples to Greece.

Found guilty of misappropriation of funds, of forgery, of extortion, of malicious defamation, of unpaid financial commitments and on and on ? No problem. You are usually sentenced to a maximum of five years imprisonment with a deferment of execution of the sentence. If you want to avoid the cost of the legal process and the bother ( it could take several years until the final sentence) you simply plead guilty, receive a light sentence which you buy out and go home scot free, to carry on as you please. Your victim(s) ? Tough luck for them.

It is cheaper to be found guilty than to pay the cost of a protracted legal process to prove your innocence.

To avoid worsening the problem of overcrowded jails the Greek legal system (lawyers and the judiciary) have gradually altered the provisions of the Laws to increasingly light sentences. To construct new jails is considered expensive. To have Private companies construct and even operate jails, as is the case in the USA, is unthinkable. So, those who can afford to buy out their sentence stay out of jail, those who can not go to the overcrowded jails. Greek Justice ! In the USA those who can afford the cost of a private jail go to a private jail to serve their sentence, but pay for its safe environment and somewhat better conditions, compared to the infamous environment of American jails. In Greece they simply pay and go home.

December 2008. Riots, widespread destruction, looting, burning, no arrests.

May 5^th 2010 three Bank employees die in the fire caused by Molotov cocktails thrown in the Bank, in the centre of Athens to punish them for working when the General Confederation of Labor had called for a general strike. Cameras and eye witnesses “failed” to produce convincing evidence, according to the Police. No arrests. No justice for the perpetrators.

A former Cabinet Minister is assaulted and injured , mid-day, not far from the Parliament. Cameras, eye witnesses and photos of the incident with the faces of the assailants clearly shown did not result to arrests. No justice for the perpetrators.

Trespassing of Public property is customary, tax evasion rampant, corruption in the Public sector endemic. Breach of Law is the Norm. Decisions of the Courts of Justice not enforced, much of the time, examples abound. Certain strikes are deemed illegal by the Courts, but their decisions are totally ignored, no consequence whatsoever for the strikers and indeed the union Leaders.

The Greeks have been accustomed to blatant disregard for the law. The fact that there are no consequences for misbehavior, for breach of laws, even for crimes has encouraged Lawlessness even on small matters like respect for traffic regulations (thousands of Greek drivers ignore even a red traffic light endangering others as well as their selves). Many Greeks have started refusing to pay tolls in the express-ways, they get out of their cars and lift the bars, many more do not pay for buss or subway tickets and when a ticket inspector fined a “free rider” in a buss he refused to pay the fine and simply drew his gun shot the inspector and got off the buss.

Greece does not prevent lawlessness, let alone punish it, instead it rewards offenders with the lack of any kind of consequence, thus encouraging lawlessness. It is a country ideal for the Mafiosi. Currently, the Police in a part of the country is getting fuel for its cars from the army, because it lacks the funds to buy it. The army will stop at the end of April fueling the police cars because it can no longer continue this practice. In other areas the Police cars have fuel enough for only thirty kilometers. Good News for robbers.

A Public Corporation is instituted in Greece and in no time its purpose is ignored and it exists solely for the benefit of its employees union. The Law is constantly adjusted to serve the Political Parties, all of which are responsible for the Lawless state of affairs in present day Greece and the situation is getting worse by the day. It is only a matter of time until this blows on their face, but the negative repercussions for Democracy will be painful for all. The absence of Justice has given rise to increasing anarchy and anarchy disintegrates democracy.