Referring to the referral of Christos Triantopoulos and four other individuals to the Special Court, Floridis argued that ‘the ruling does not state what evidence was lost’, despite the Judicial Council’s reasoning referring to the loss of valuable information and critical evidence as a result of interventions at the crash site.

Speaking to SKAI, Floridis launched a fresh attack on political forces that, he claimed, ‘attempted to link the tragedy to cover-up scenarios’. He described the political controversy surrounding the case as a ‘political conspiracy’ organised with the aim of harming the government.

At the same time, he addressed the referral of former Deputy Minister to the Prime Minister Christos Triantopoulos and four other individuals to the Special Court over the alteration of the crash site. Floridis questioned whether the ruling specifies exactly what evidence was lost during the interventions at the site.

‘The ruling does not mention what evidence was lost,’ he said. Referring to its finding that relatives of the victims had been deprived of crucial evidence, he added: ‘Is there any reference to what they were deprived of?’

The Judicial Council, however, states in the reasoning of its ruling that soil, rubbish and debris were removed from the site, noting that these actions ‘resulted in the loss of valuable information for the investigation and critical evidence’.

Floridis argued that the intervention at the site should be assessed according to whether it actually resulted in the loss of evidence, referring to similar operations that, he said, take place following major accidents abroad.

‘It makes sense to discuss the alteration of the site if it actually led to the alteration of evidence, or whether the intervention at the site was carried out as it is all over the world. Just a few months ago, in the accident in Spain, excavators went in, cranes drove over the site and intervened in the area.’

Floridis stands by ‘those who talk about backfilling are rubbish’

The justice minister was also asked about the reaction to an earlier statement he made in parliament concerning those who use the term ‘backfilling’ to describe interventions at the Tempi crash site.

Responding to opposition calls for his resignation, Floridis argued that the phrase was directed exclusively at political figures, not relatives of the victims or other members of the public.

‘My phrase was about politicians. That in this murky landscape, those who use the word “backfilling” are rubbish. And what did they do? They immediately isolated this phrase as soon as I said it in parliament.’

He added:

‘Basically, they came and told me, “Oh, you’re attacking the relatives.” Guys, I said, are the relatives politicians? Is any member of the public a politician? Is any journalist?’

Floridis insisted that he would not retract the statement, saying: ‘I wouldn’t change a thing.’

‘A political conspiracy, organised and aided from abroad’

Floridis then set out his account of the political controversy that followed the Tempi disaster.

‘We had this terrible tragedy that shook Greece. And the country’s authorities, all of them, undertook to investigate the causes of this terrible tragedy. Alongside this case, a political conspiracy was set up, organised and aided from abroad.’

The minister claimed that this alleged ‘conspiracy’ developed in stages, referring, among other things, to claims about missing passengers and allegations that the freight train had been carrying an illegal flammable cargo.

‘First, that there were 53 passengers who were never found because of some missing carriages. Then, when it turned out there were not even three missing carriages, the most crucial part of the conspiracy was organised: that there was an explosive illegal cargo, which some unknown company had loaded onto the freight train, and that this material was flammable, meaning there had been the smuggling of flammable material which was responsible for the explosion.’

Floridis argued that these allegations were used politically against the government.

‘I took a tough stand against the political forces that organised a conspiracy, which turned out to be a lie, in order to harm the government. Through all this, people came to believe that something terrible had happened and there was this terrible word, “cover-up”.’

‘The conspirators are asking me to resign’

Referring to the reaction to his statements and demands for his resignation, Floridis maintained the same position.

‘They are asking me to resign because I contributed, along with others, to exposing the conspiracy. The conspirators are asking me to resign because I exposed them together with others, instead of them apologising for this entire conspiracy they spread.’

Floridis also cited online activity involving foreign accounts ahead of the mass demonstrations over Tempi.

‘Before the large demonstrations took place, 50,000 internet accounts were activated from abroad, spreading all these lies. You know, the biggest intervention you can make in society is to appeal to emotion and exploit it. That is what they did. People innocently took to the streets believing that something terrible had happened here, and that is what proved to be true.’

Regarding the referral of Triantopoulos and four other individuals to the Special Court, Floridis argued that the central question is whether the interventions at the crash site actually resulted in the loss of evidence.

Triantopoulos has been referred alongside former Thessaly regional governor Kostas Agorastos, former Civil Protection secretary general Vassilis Papageorgiou, then Larissa police director Agapios Charakopoulos and regional official Evangelos Falaras.

Floridis said that, according to his interpretation, the accusation does not concern Triantopoulos ordering a particular action, but rather failing to prevent one.

‘The allegation is not that the specific defendant gave an order for something to be done, but that he failed to ensure that something did not happen, because evidence could potentially be lost.’

The minister argued that the case file contains all the material that could have emerged from the investigation.

‘My trust in justice is not à la carte, it is permanent. I rely on the investigation that has been completed and made public. The case file contains all the evidence that an investigation could uncover. All the evidence that could play a role in investigating the accident, based on the investigative material, has been examined.’

Trial expected to begin in 2026

Floridis estimated that the Special Court trial will begin in 2026, based on the statutory deadlines.

‘Based on the deadlines provided for by law, the trial will begin in 2026.’

As for its duration, he said there was no fixed completion date, as this would depend on the material examined, the witnesses called and the number of lawyers involved.

‘The end cannot be determined, in the sense that the court has material to examine and witnesses to hear. The time it takes depends on all those who will appear and on the number of lawyers.’

Floridis concluded by reiterating his position on calls for his resignation:

‘The conspirators are asking me, who helped expose the conspiracy, to resign, rather than apologising themselves.’

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