One day before the start of the trial for the Tempe tragedy, Maria Karystianou made public accusations against judicial and prosecutorial authorities in Larissa, claiming that specific omissions and handling prevented thorough investigation of the case. In her post, she states that requests for exhumations that could have led to more specialized examinations were rejected, while also referring to delays or restrictions in procedures that eventually proceeded. Additionally, she highlights a case where—according to her claims—a decision to grant copies of digital material to victims’ families was overturned following intervention by a senior judicial official.
She also expresses strong reaction to the press release from the Union of Judges and Prosecutors, characterizing it as unsigned and defamatory, as it contains personal attacks against her and questions her motives.
Ms. Karystianou questions whether such actions represent all judicial officials and declares that she seeks accountability from those who—in her opinion—contributed to covering up the case, emphasizing that her pursuit is not vindictive but aims at delivering justice.
Full post by Maria Karystianou:
Tomorrow begins the “truncated” trial for the Tempe crime. A trial for 57 innocent people who either lost their lives from the collision or were burned alive.
Yet in this trial, there was no investigation into the charred victims. Everyone—the appointed (after the Prime Minister’s letter of 06.03.2023) Investigator, the Prosecutor who drafted the referral proposal, and the Court of Appeals President—proceeded without investigating the exact cause of death for those who burned. Among them, my daughter Martha.
But other judicial and prosecutorial officials in Larissa involved in the criminal procedures also seemed to do everything possible to prevent the truth from being revealed:
1. The Tempe Investigator and Larissa Court of Appeals Council: They refused exhumation of victims for conducting necessary examinations.
2. The Chief Prosecutor of Larissa Court of First Instance: After public outcry and Panos Routsis’s multi-day hunger strike, she ordered exhumations “on paper.” She remained inactive for 5 months and when she finally initiated them after our pressure, she excluded laboratories and examinations capable of identifying causes of burning, limiting herself to Greek laboratories that had already declared in writing their inability to respond.
3. The Larissa Misdemeanor Court Council: It upheld this refusal, rejecting our relevant appeal.
The situation peaked three days ago. The Chief Justice of Larissa Court of First Instance arrived furious at the courthouse and harshly reprimanded the Service President because she had accepted our request to receive copies of digital material (videos and photographs) confiscated from expert witnesses. While copying had already begun, the Service President returned distressed, revoked her decision, and prohibited us from obtaining the files.
The peak of impropriety came from the Union of Judges and Prosecutors (EnDE). With an unsigned press release, they violated every code of ethics, using false and defamatory claims against me. They dared to claim by name that I—the mother who received her child in a bag of ashes—have “false interest” in delivering justice.
I wonder: does this shameful press release, through which EnDE intervenes in a pending trial and makes politically colored judgments, truly represent the honest judicial officials who entered the profession to serve Justice?
I live for the moment when all those who conspired in the vile cover-up of truth and the tarnishing of my child’s memory will be held accountable. Not out of revenge, but because they committed hubris. And inevitably, Nemesis and Retribution are approaching.
