Maria Karystianou, along with the "Tempe 2023" association, has sent a legal notice to Panagis Kapatos, the president of the parliamentary investigation committee on former minister's involvement in the Tempe case. The letter criticises Triantopoulos' request for immediate referral to the judiciary bypassing the preliminary inquiry of the Parliamnt, calling it "a cowardly move." The association argues that if the process is fast-tracked, it would lead to "the collapse of the Constitution" and invalidate the legal procedures.

Following former Deputy Minister Christos Triantopoulos’ request to bypass the parliamentary investigative committee and have his case directly referred to the judiciary, the Association of the Tempe victims families reacted with a legal notice.

As a reminder, the parliamentary investigation committee was established in order to examine Triantopoulos’ involvement in the backfiling of the wreckage site which led to losing crucial evidence for the Tempe case.

The letter states:

“The request made by Mr. Triantopoulos, to be referred directly to the judicial council of the Supreme Court without preliminary investigation, if adopted by your committee, constitutes a full breach of the Constitution and the Rule of Law, a breach that will be achieved with your direct participation and cooperation, bringing all legal consequences and responsibilities.”

The families of the victims of the Tempe train disaster expressed outrage:

“Once again, the authorities are showing that they consider us naive, insulting our intelligence and ignoring the fundamental principles of the Constitution and the Rule of Law. They have turned the state into one of injustice and lawlessness.”

They demand that Kapatos and the committee carry out their duty thoroughly, including initiating a preliminary investigation and collecting necessary evidence for potential criminal charges.

Key demands:

  • Ensure that all members of the committee fulfil their institutional roles and duties.
  • Carry out a proper preliminary investigation, even based on the altered and “cut-down” proposal from PASOK, which was the basis for forming the committee.
  • Collect all necessary evidence and pursue criminal charges for all crimes revealed by the investigation, which you are obliged to conduct.
  • Refrain from actions that would amount to a sophisticated, yet blatantly obvious, attempt to cover up the criminal responsibilities of Christos Triantopoulos and anyone else whose involvement is uncovered during the pre-investigation process.

The letter concludes by warning that if these demands are not met, they will pursue all legal rights.

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