Trial over ‘missing’ Tempi videos continues amid courtroom tension

Relatives of the victims and their lawyers renewed their request for copies of videos, photographs and drone footage collected from the scene by the court-appointed expert. The material concerns, among other things, the loading of the commercial train and, according to the expert himself, was not included in the case file ‘by choice’.

The issue has triggered strong reactions, as the material is considered crucial to the development of the case. Computers, laptops and hard drives have already been seized from the experts’ workplaces as part of the investigation into the handling of the evidence.

Wednesday’s hearing was considered particularly important, as the court was called on to rule on the request by the victims’ relatives for copies of the material from the outset of the proceedings.

Tension in court

The session was marked by a sharp confrontation inside the courtroom. Lawyer Zoe Konstantopoulou demanded explanations from the bench over the failure to provide copies of the seized material since 10 March, as well as over previous interruptions to the trial and issues concerning procedural obstacles. She also sought clarifications over the presence in Larissa of Christoforos Sevastides, president of the Association of Judges and Prosecutors, on the day the presiding judge had left due to illness.

The presiding judge replied: ‘I will not enter into the process of sharing with you information regarding my medical file. What has been reported about pressure is unfounded. I did not receive any pressure from anyone and I did not meet with anyone.’

Tensions then escalated further, with victim’s father Mr Telkeridis telling the judge: ‘You have exhausted us, Madam President. You are responsible for this whole situation.’

The hearing was temporarily adjourned in an effort to calm the situation. Proceedings later resumed, with the remaining defence lawyers present in the courtroom to support the prosecution.

‘We will do everything to obtain the evidence’

Speaking outside the courtroom, Konstantopoulou said:

‘In the trial of the missing videos and the missing president of the court, who returned to the bench only after 23 days and then came down again because, as I was informed, there was a technical problem, today we will do everything in our power to get access to the evidence that has been seized for three weeks and, unfortunately, has not been given to us, because of all the methods that have been used.

‘I want to say that yesterday’s proceedings, apart from being unacceptable, were also revealing.

‘They were revealing both of the methods used and of the grave corruption whose tentacles reach even into the judicial function, but also of the terrible audacity of those involved in major crimes who do not even appear in court to face the charges against them. Our position is that, just as happened here in this court over the missing videos, the personal presence of all the accused in the Tempi crime trial should be ordered.

‘These trials are not meant to take place with empty chairs for the accused. They are not meant to take place with parents, relatives and survivors pushed into a corner, through procedures that offend human dignity. I send a message to the accused, the overwhelming majority of whom were absent yesterday: make sure that you are present on Monday. Many of you are also politically aligned figures, and your absence is interpreted as a party line.

‘Make sure you are present. The right of the accused to be represented reaches its limit when there is an obligation to provide all the evidence, when there are 57 dead and as many injured. The right to be represented and not be present is exhausted by the moral duty of every person involved to say everything they know about the case and to place themselves at the disposal of the judicial authorities and of any investigation.’

Eleni Vasara, the mother of Agapi Tsaklidou, who was killed in the restaurant carriage, and secretary of the Tempi Victims Association, said:

‘We are here today and we continue against the cover-up effort, insisting that the whole truth come to light. We continue our struggle inside and outside the courtrooms so that the main culprit, the one targeted by the recent rallies of 28 February, is also exposed. That main culprit is expressed in the slogan: “Either their profits or our lives”. We continue, and today is an important hearing in this trial.

‘Yesterday, beyond the procedural statements and declarations of support for the prosecution, I have two things to say. First, that whatever interventions were made in the so-called courtroom do not in any way ensure proper conditions for such a critical trial, in which everyone, including the judges, should be able to devote themselves fully to their role. Second, there was suffocating police authoritarianism, with even OPKE units present, especially in the area where we, the relatives, were passing after the checks in order to go up to the courtroom.’

Christos Konstantinidis, the husband of Vasiliki Chlorou, said:

‘I think the focus was more on yesterday. It was not what the relatives, the lawyers and the whole world expected. Once again, unfortunately, it is a disgrace for our country. After three years, it still cannot host such a major hearing with so much public interest. I think we have got through the first procedural steps. But if this mess continues, it will not be possible to schedule or conclude a hearing. The institutions, and the courthouse in particular, must try to bring this process to completion and at least manage the chaos that has unfolded.

‘There is no need for this police presence in the area. We really do not know who they are there to guard. The criminals are the ones who are absent, the ones missing from the bench. And what struck me was that the terms “dead” or “deceased” are not the right ones. There are 57 murdered people, and there was an attempt to kill 300 more. With that understanding, the bench must examine both the witnesses and the accused. As for today’s developments, I think we will finally begin, as we should, the continuation of the case concerning the embezzlement of documents.

‘These are the videos that were not handed over as they should have been, through all sorts of tricks that by now we have become accustomed to. The whole cover-up continues. But this hearing will lead to important evidence that will reveal the truth, which we will of course also use in the main trial. Through deceit and deliberate intent, neither the investigation nor the indictment was completed properly, and they also wanted to hide, in any case, what has not been included in the established framework so far, namely what caused the deaths of 27 charred people plus one missing person, which until now remains truly outrageous.

‘We could not find a trace of Erietta, and this was not because they burned or because there was a fireball. Silicone oils may have been involved, but what was there was material that developed very high temperatures, temperatures that neither the seats nor anything else could create, only hydrocarbons on the commercial train. That is why there are no videos. They do not exist, because there was cutting and stitching of the audio in order to mislead the Greek people once again.

‘Since Maria Karystianou has decided to seek justice for the victims and something more, this is not prohibitive. I think such voices should exist. We will wait a little longer to see within what institutional framework she will act, what programmatic declarations there will be, who will staff it, and from there the people will decide what exactly will happen.’

The case concerns the failure to provide the investigating magistrate with crucial videos from the Thessaloniki freight station, from which the commercial train departed on the evening of 28 February 2023. In the dock are the then president of OSE, the then chief executive and an executive of the private security company responsible for video surveillance. They face charges including document embezzlement, incitement and disobedience.

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