The Tempi train crash trial has entered another critical phase, with proceedings centered on the splitting of the case file, postponement requests, and the connection of the case to the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) investigation. The hearing at the Larissa Three-Member Court of Appeal for Felonies was adjourned and will resume on Monday, July 27, with defense attorneys continuing their statements on the prosecutor’s proposal, which recommends, among other things, the rejection of all postponement requests. Today’s session concluded with closing arguments from victim support attorneys, who presented their positions on the proceedings so far.
Read also: Nikos Plakias after the Tempi trial: “Lawyers must show respect — everyone defends their own client”
Tempi trial: Zoe Konstantopoulou’s sharp criticism over the case file split
According to larissanet.gr, a forceful intervention came from Zoe Konstantopoulou, who represents relatives of victims and an injured survivor of the Tempi tragedy. She argued that splitting off the case file relating to ERGOSE executives is not a simple procedural choice, but a deliberate move designed to cause delays. In her own words, the splitting of the case file constitutes “a covert scheme to push the accountability process for those individuals even further into the future.”
According to Konstantopoulou, the case file has already been divided into three separate parts, and she warned that any further split would have serious consequences for the progress of the case.
She argued that yet another split would lead to “a cover-up and a sham trial,” adding that it “amounts to a scheme — a scheme of corruption.”
Addressing the postponement requests, she described them as a bid for “blatant delay,” noting that the EPPO process is still at a very early stage and does not constitute valid grounds for suspending the current trial.
She also called on the court to reject the postponement request, while simultaneously requesting that the European case file documents relating to Contract 717 be linked to the case being tried in Larissa, so that all relevant evidence can be considered jointly when the case is adjudicated.
Themistoklis Sofos’s position and the three parallel proceedings
Following this, according to larissanet.gr, the floor was given to Themistoklis Sofos, defense attorney for the accused former head of the Larissa Inspection Division of the Railway Traffic Support Service for Central and Southern Greece.
Sofos reminded the court that he has already filed a request for a preliminary ruling to be referred to the Court of Justice of the European Union, seeking clarification on whether the separation of the EPPO case file from the one being examined at the Larissa Three-Member Court of Appeal for Felonies is compatible with EU law.
In his address, he argued that there are currently three separate proceedings running in parallel over the same set of events: the case file concerning the deadly Tempi crash, the EPPO investigation, and the case involving former Transport Minister Kostas Achilleas Karamanlis, which remains pending before the Supreme Court investigative judge.
He stressed that these individual cases are substantively interconnected and cannot be examined independently of one another. As he put it, “The damage to the European Union’s financial interests and the disruption of rail transport are inextricably linked.”
With today’s statements concluded, the court adjourned the session and set Monday, July 27 as the next hearing date, when the examination of the pending requests and legal issues raised by both sides will continue — in proceedings that continue to attract intense public and social interest.
