The legal solution found by the Larissa prosecutor’s office to satisfy the request of Panos Routsi and other relatives for toxicological tests was based on the retrieval of an old case file that had been archived, according to reports. Specifically, the path to satisfy Routsi’s request and that of other relatives of the Tempi tragedy victims for toxicological examinations was opened through a case file that had been archived and was retrieved under the new circumstances.
Panos Routsi: The retrieval of the case file that opened the path for toxicological examinations
With the retrieval of the old case file, the request for toxicological examinations was satisfied, at a time when the judicial process has progressed and the trial is now expected.
The case file that will be formed, prompted by identification or toxicological examinations, will be separate, and when the trial begins, the findings that emerge can be utilized during the hearing procedure. However, if criminal liabilities arise, then the second case file, now retrieved, will follow its own path regarding potential defendants.
A new prosecutorial investigation is now being conducted within which relatives of victims who wish to do so can request toxicological and biochemical examinations.
What the urgent preliminary investigation states:
“Please conduct a preliminary examination to summon the relatives of the victims of the Tempi railway accident of 28.02.2023, who should testify if they wish and which complete biochemical-toxicological examinations should be conducted after exhumation of the deceased victims, as well as collection of material from the immediate surrounding area of the burial. In case of positive response, these (examinations) should be conducted by a competent appropriate laboratory with the guarantees of articles 185 of the Criminal Code. It is noted that if exhumation takes place, it should be done with respect according to sanitary regulations and in consultation with the competent Municipality, in the presence of a forensic pathologist, competent police authority and DEE. Subsequently, involved persons (doctors-forensic pathologists) should be summoned without oath to give explanations“.
This order accepts the exhumation requests that other relatives of Tempi victims had also submitted, while this development does not affect the procedure for setting the start date of the trial for the railway tragedy.
What government officials say
“We absolutely respected the role of justice and the separation of powers, which constitutes an essential principle of our democracy. Only the Larissa Prosecutor’s Office, in this case, had the authority to judge the relevant requests for toxicological examinations,” government officials stated regarding Panos Routsi’s request for exhumation and toxicological examinations of his son Denis Routsi’s body. “Respect for the independence of justice constitutes the foundation of democracy and a permanent principle for the government,” they add regarding the 22-day hunger striker.
Specifically, government officials emphasized the following:
“First, the position of the Prime Minister and the Government, as expressed from the first moment through Government Spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis, was full support for the human pain of the hunger striker Mr. Routsi, away from the blatant attempt at political exploitation of the tragic father by opposition parties.
Second, the government absolutely respected the role of justice and the separation of powers, which constitutes an essential principle of our democracy. Only the Larissa Prosecutor’s Office, in this case, had the authority to judge the relevant requests for toxicological examinations and not the parties or television panels. Respect for the independence of justice constitutes the foundation of democracy and a permanent principle for the government.
Third, the attempt by those who tried to instrumentalize the great tragedy of Tempi and exploit the human pain of relatives for partisan purposes, to achieve their one and only goal which was to delay the trial, fell flat. The universal demand for truth, justice and accountability passes only through the trial, which will be conducted, no matter how much certain opposition parties who have invested their political survival in exploiting the relatives of the Tempi tragedy victims do not want it.
