996-page indictment with 36 defendants over the Tempi tragedy from the Larissa Appeals Prosecutor

The Larissa Appeals Prosecutor, Mr. Lambros Tsogas, has requested the referral of 36 non-political individuals to proceedings earlier the Three-Member Court of Appeal for Felonies implicit the Tempi tragedy. His proposal, consisting of 996 pages, has been sent to the President of the Court of Appeal of Larissa.

In his proposal, the Appeals Prosecutor does not absorption solely connected the nonstop responsibilities of those instantly progressive — inexperienced stationmaster Vasilis Samaras and his 2 colleagues, Kostas Pavlopoulos and Panagiotis Chamilos, who near earlier their displacement ended connected the fatal nighttime of February 28, 2023, leaving Samaras to negociate bid movements astatine Larissa presumption unsocial — arsenic good arsenic OSE inspector Dimitris Nikolaou, liable for monitoring the stationmasters’ shifts. He besides highlights the long-standing failures of the bodies liable for railway information — namely executives of OSE, RAS, ERGOSE, and elder officials of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport. Criminal liability is besides attributed to elder executives of Hellenic Train, arsenic good arsenic the OSE worker who sat connected the committee that approved Samaras’ hiring arsenic a stationmaster contempt the information that helium exceeded the property bounds of 48 years specified successful the occupation posting.

The Larissa Appeals Prosecutor’s connection includes charges of unsafe interference successful fixed-track transport with imaginable intent done actions endangering railway safety, resulting successful the deaths of galore people, superior bodily harm to galore others, and important harm to nationalist infrastructure. Other charges see aggregate counts of negligent homicide, superior bodily harm done negligence by persons with peculiar responsibility, elemental bodily harm done negligence, arsenic good arsenic breach of work committed jointly.

OSE: The then-president of the organization, Spyros Pateras, and each elder executives are defendants. The authoritative notes that, contempt his ineligible obligation, the OSE president did not suggest to the Minister of Infrastructure and Transport oregon to the Regulatory Authority for Railways (RAS) the enactment of a New National Rule arsenic an urgent, impermanent preventive information measure. At the aforesaid time, bid velocity limits were ne'er imposed — a measurement that could person decisively prevented a collision oregon astatine slightest mitigated its consequences — and the Larissa distant power system, disabled since a 2019 fire, was ne'er restored.

RAS: Regarding then-president of the Regulatory Authority for Railways, Ioanna Tsiaparikou, the authoritative stresses that though she knew the GSM-R connection system, installed since 2018, was operating with deficiencies, she failed to certify it successful time. This strategy would person provided continuous and reliable vigor connection betwixt stationmasters, drivers, and postulation regulators. She is besides charged with failing to enforce regulatory measures connected OSE — done inspections, supervision, fines, oregon adjacent revocation of information certification — contempt being alert of deficiencies successful captious railway information systems connected that conception of the treble track.

ERGOSE: The connection stresses that the behaviour of the accused is straight linked to the collision, since had they not neglected the restoration of cardinal information and postulation power systems, and had they implemented declaration 717 connected schedule, ensuring afloat cognition of the ETCS Level 1 system, the catastrophe could perchance person been avoided.

Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport: The authoritative notes that the ministry had the authority, upon proposal from RAS and OSE, to o.k. and instantly use a New National Rule, but ne'er did — a nonaccomplishment that could person prevented the calamity by enforcing information standards.

According to procedure, the parties present person astir 10 days to record ineligible remedies if they deem necessary. The authoritative stresses that determination is nary request for further investigative actions, arsenic each indispensable inquiries person been completed, the Court of Appeals has issued applicable decisions expanding charges and ordering investigative acts, and testimonies from passengers — nonstop eyewitnesses — person already been gathered successful capable number.

The Appeals Prosecutor concludes that determination is nary request to instrumentality the lawsuit for further questioning of different victims who suffered injuries but person not yet testified.

The prosecutor’s proposal, sent to the President of the Court of Appeal, marks the case’s introduction into its last phase. Families of the victims and Greek nine present await the trial, which they anticipation volition yet present accountability for the deadliest railway mishap successful the country’s history.