Families of Tempi victims insist on exhumation – Supreme Court President rules out xylene testing

With Panos Rouchi present connected the 10th time of his hunger strike, 80 relatives of victims of the Tempi bid calamity person signed a petition calling for exhumations to beryllium approved. The petition was addressed to the Prime Minister of Greece, the President of Parliament, and some the Prosecutor and President of the Supreme Court.

The petition, signed by hunger striker Panos Rouchi and Maria Karystianou, reads successful part:

“We contented this extra-judicial declaration and complaint, calling connected the authorities to o.k. the exhumation of the Tempi victims successful the beingness of autarkic experts and representatives of some home and planetary laboratories, with the information of method advisors representing the victims’ families.

We denounce the refusal to supply ineligible extortion and the refusal—through acts and omissions—of those straight oregon indirectly liable to respect the ineffable close of parents to exhume their children. This would let due aesculapian and anthropological examinations to place the chemic substance that burned our loved ones and caused their deaths.

We authorize the above-ordered exhumation probe to found the information and find the creation of the chartless fuel, arsenic explicitly noted successful the 27.02.2025 EODASAM report.”

What the instrumentality says astir extra-judicial petitions

According to tribunal newsman Ioanna Mandrou (MEGA, Live News), an out-of-court petition is not legally considered a ceremonial petition for exhumation. She explained that erstwhile requests for exhumations successful the Tempi lawsuit had already been submitted by different families during the investigative phase. One was rejected until adept reports were completed; the different was besides dismissed aft investigators concluded that the bid had not been carrying hazardous material.

Mandrou stressed that adjacent if a caller exhumation were granted, it would not automatically reopen the investigation.

Supreme Court response

The enactment of the Supreme Court has efficaciously closed the matter, stating that the Tempi probe has ended and cannot beryllium reopened. During the Justice Conference, Supreme Court President Anastasia Papadopoulou and Prosecutor Konstantinos Tzavellas responded to questions astir Rouchi’s request. Both made wide that an exhumation cannot presently beryllium ordered, though the last determination rests with the President of the Larissa Appeals Court.

Papadopoulou noted:

“The petition concerns introspection of the victims’ remains for xylene and different substances. These requests were already made and answered during the investigation. We cannot revisit them.”

She added that portion families person not mislaid immoderate ineligible rights, reopening the probe is nary longer possible.

Tzavellas emphasized that lawyers cannot unit prosecutors to enactment extracurricular the law. He clarified that portion an exhumation could theoretically beryllium requested done administrative channels (e.g., via the municipality liable for the cemetery), the judicial lawsuit itself is procedurally closed.

Families’ lawyer responds

Leonidas Koubouras, ineligible typical of respective victims’ families, told Status FM (Thessaloniki) that each bodies had been identified beyond uncertainty done DNA investigation and different authoritative reports. He argued that raising doubts astir recognition misleads the nationalist and distracts from the existent issues successful the case.

Symbolic pupil visit

On Tuesday, students from the Athens Art School and the 2nd Standard Lyceum visited Panos Rouchi astatine Syntagma Square, wherever helium continues his hunger strike. They presented him with a drafting of his son, mislaid successful the Tempi tragedy, arsenic a motion of solidarity and enactment for his cause.