Twenty-five members of the anarchist group Rouvikonas have been found not guilty following their protest and arrest during the protests in Syntagma Square marking two years since the deadly Tempe train disaster. The group had entered the Hellenic Train offices and unfurled a banner from the building’s top floor.

The court ruled that the defendants should be acquitted of charges related to disturbing the peace and the unlawful possession and use of flares. However, 18 of them were convicted of refusing to provide fingerprints and received a six-month suspended sentence, allowing them to appeal.

Victims’ families defended the accused in court

Relatives of three victims from the tragic Tempe train crash testified in support of the accused, urging the court to dismiss the complaint filed by Hellenic Train over the banner.

“This lawsuit is an insult,” said Thodoris Eleftheriadis, who lost his mother in the disaster. “They’re prosecuting 25 people over a banner, when 57 people died and many more were injured because of the company’s negligence. The lawsuit was offensive to us, the victims’ families… They want to imprison them for a banner, while those responsible for 57 deaths walk free.”

Maria Dolka, the mother of victim Anastasia Papangeli, also addressed the court: “I thank these young people. I came here as a mother, from the heart. It moved me deeply to see that banner hanging from Hellenic Train. Thank you for Anastasia, who’s no longer with us. She was beautiful, full of dreams, and they took her away from me. Please, acquit them.“

Giannis Voutsinas’ sister, another relative of a victim, said: “For two years we’ve been fighting for what should be obvious – justice. Our loved ones are not coming back. These 25 people climbed up a building and hung a banner that read ‘murderers’. No damage was done, no one was hurt. I ask you to let them go free – in memory of my brother, and everyone else, because these people haven’t forgotten.”

“A symbolic act of protest”

During his defence, Rubicon member Giorgos Kalaitzidis explained: “This was a collective decision – a symbolic act of protest in memory of the 57 lives lost. Why did we go to Hellenic Train? Where else should we have gone? This is the company that bought the Greek railways for next to nothing and had the power to prevent the tragedy, but didn’t. And after all this, they sue us. It’s unbelievable that no one at the company asked, ‘Is this really a good idea?’ I find it baffling.”

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