Maria Karystianou, president of the association of the Tempe victims' families, who tragically lost her daughter in the Tempe train disaster, has sent a formal legal notice to the President of the preliminary investigation committee of the Parliament, Panagiotis Kapatos. In her letter, she expresses her support for the charge against the suspect, Christos Triantopoulos, under articles 63, 67, and 82 of the Greek Criminal Procedure Code, and urges further investigation into his involvement and those connected to him. Meanwhlie, the former deputy minister maintains his innocence and officially requested today to bypass the parliamentary inquiry.

Request for 17 witnesses to be called

In her notice, which was also delivered to the members of the parliamentary committee, Karystianou proposes that 17 witnesses be summoned to testify. Among these, she specifically requests the testimony of PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis, along with five former ministers and deputy ministers who held positions during the time of the railway tragedy. She insists that the Committee should not conclude its work without examining witnesses and conducting a thorough preliminary investigation.

Tampering with evidence

Karystianou stresses that she feels personally affected by the destruction of crucial evidence, an act she accuses Christos Triantopoulos of committing with malicious intent and in violation of his legal duties. She argues that the removal of inert materials from the site of the crash constitutes an unlawful intervention in a crime scene, which is considered a criminal offence under article 251 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

In her statement, Karystianou emphasizes that her personal rights, both at the national and European levels, have been infringed upon due to the mishandling of the evidence. She insists that her ability to participate in the judicial process, and to seek justice for her daughter, has been severely compromised by the actions of Triantopoulos.

Triantopoulos maintains his innocence and requests direct referral to court

Meanwhile, Christos Triantopoulos, the former Deputy Minister to the PM, has submitted a memorandum denying all accusations. During the meeting of the preliminary investigation committee on Friday morning, Triantopoulos reiterated his innocence, stating that he had not committed any unlawful acts between March 3 and March 6, 2023, when he held office. He has once again requested that his case be referred directly to the judicial council, bypassing the inquiry of the parliament.

Disagreements within the committee and SYRIZA’s walkout

According to state broadcaster ERT, both PASOK and SYRIZA refused to accept the reading of Triantopoulos’ memorandum. SYRIZA, in particular, argued that the memorandum should not be heard before the witnesses are called. They insisted on putting to a vote the request for witnesses to testify. SYRIZA claimed that proceeding without this would violate the Constitution, the Ministerial Responsibility Law, and parliamentary regulations, thus questioning the legitimacy of the process.

As reported by Avgi, a SYRIZA member of the committee, Giorgos Gavrilos, pressed for a vote on the matter. He stated that SYRIZA could not legitimise the process under these circumstances and would withdraw as long as the memorandum was being discussed. He argued that it was unacceptable to read the memorandum before the witnesses had been heard and warned that this would lead to the invalidation of the proceedings if the majority insisted on rushing the committee’s closure.

PASOK strongly criticised this decision:

“The principles of legality are being ignored, institutions are being bypassed, and a crucial question arises: if the government majority believes, as Mr Triantopoulos claims, that he bears no responsibility, why then has it decided to pursue criminal charges against him? This constitutes an abuse of power. The government must clarify on what legal basis it is sending this ‘innocent’ individual before the judicial council,” PASOK emphasised.

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