The correct response is the dispassionate application of the law. Not political persecution, but not politically motivated leniency, either. We don't have to choose between unity and justice. Avoiding doing the right thing will only prolong the crisis and give aid and comfort to enemies of the state and of the peace.

After the USSR fell in 1991, Russia chose to bury the crimes of the security services in the name of national harmony. The KGB changed its name, but not its nature. Just 9 years later, a KGB man became president and it was our last meaningful election.
— Garry Kasparov