Prosecutor accepts probe into Tempe train crash scene
The Deputy Prosecutor for Appeals in Larisa, Katerina Matsi, accepted on Thursday an appeal to investigate a possible tampering with the scene of the deadly train crash in Tempe last year, in a lawsuit that includes the names of politicians.
The appeal was lodged by Pavlos Aslanidis, the father of one of the 57 victims of the deadly collision, after an initial lawsuit was shelved by a lower court prosecutor instead being forwarded to Parliament.
According to a Greek law on “ministerial responsibility,” based on Article 86 of the Constitution, any judicial investigation that comes across the name of a politician must be sent to Parliament where a majority of lawmakers will decide whether to lift the politician’s immunity.
Aslanidis lawsuit referred specifically to the fact that the crashed carriages were removed from the site and it, in turn, was covered in gravel and asphalt, before the forensic examination could be concluded, and specifically before the Larissa Chemical Laboratory could investigate the site. The lawsuit named Deputy Climate Change Minister Christos Triandopoulos, the then Health Minister Konstantinos Plevris and the then Deputy Health Minister Zoi Raptis.
Matsi gave a 20-day deadline for a new preliminary probe to discover who was at the site of the accident in the first few days and who gave the order to remove the soil and other materials before the judicial authorities were involved, without informing and obtaining permission. It will also look into whether a report was drawn up on the removal of the materials.
The investigation will require, among other things, documents from the Greek Police and the Fire Service, as well as any other agency involved in the accident.
The probe comes seven days after Supreme Court Prosecutor Georgia Adeilini ordered a probe into possible disciplinary liabilities on the part of a prosecutor in Larissa who shelved the lawsuit.
The Tempe train collision in February 2023 resulted in the loss of 57 lives and left numerous others injured.
