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A long-awaited trial into Greece’s worst train tragedy resumed connected Wednesday aft overcrowding successful the courtroom past period disrupted proceedings and forced an adjournment.
But relatives of the victims were still unhappy astir entree connected Wednesday.
Thirty-six radical are connected trial implicit the February 2023 collision that claimed 57 lives, mostly students returning from a carnival weekend.
After a three-year investigation, the trial formally began connected March 23. But it made small headway due to the fact that of crowding successful the courtroom successful the cardinal town of Larissa.
Hundreds of radical tried to participate the courtroom to travel the trial past month.
Lawyers complained that the venue was so packed that they hardly had country to unfastened their files and that occurrence information regulations were not being respected.
Survivors of the mishap and household members had to sit successful the seats of the accused, astir of whom were absent.
‘Still unsuitable’
As proceedings reopened Wednesday, constabulary lone allowed participants legally scheduled to be the trial to enter, but there were still complaints.
“We can’t spot anything,” Panos Ruci, who mislaid his son successful the mishap and held a hunger strike past year aft the authorities refused to exhume his remains for tests, told reporters.
Ruci aboriginal said helium had been “shoved similar a criminal” by constabulary when helium tried to attack his lawyer during the trial.
“All the relatives indispensable beryllium wrong the courtroom. The trial cannot take spot if the relatives are not wrong the courtroom,” said Maria Karystianou, a salient campaigner who mislaid her girl successful the collision.
“The courtroom is still unsuitable… they person us sitting successful the acold end,” said Vassilis Hatziharalambous, whose son died successful the crash. An “excessive” fig of constabulary officers were occupying lawyers’ seats, helium said.
There were besides complaints astir the presiding justice having forbidden photos and videos from being taken successful the courtroom.
The trial was adjourned to Monday.
Responding to comments astir the suitability of the venue, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis implicit the weekend argued that the courtroom had been “built specifically for this large trial” and was “among the astir functional and modern successful Europe”.
Work to remodel the erstwhile league hallway into the courtroom outgo hundreds of thousands of euros.
Repeated warnings
More than 350 witnesses are owed to beryllium heard and some 250 lawyers are accredited for the trial, which is expected to take years to scope a verdict.
It is being conducted astir 30 kilometres (nearly 20 miles) from the spot adjacent Tempe, cardinal Greece, where a freight train and a rider locomotive smashed into each different connected February 28, 2023.
Among those to testify are survivors and household members of the victims, some of whom are believed to person burned to decease aft surviving the archetypal collision.
Those successful the dock see the station maestro connected work connected the nighttime of the accident, different railway officials and two Italian erstwhile employees of the trains’ genitor company, Ferrovie dello Stato.
The head-on collision exposed the parlous state of information precautions successful Greece’s railway network, contempt European Union grants for its modernisation and repeated warnings from unions.
On Monday, a abstracted tribunal successful Athens awarded 400,000 euros ($464,000) to the relatives of 1 of the victims, accepting failings by the Greek state.
Evidence thought lost
Thirty-three of the defendants successful the Larissa trial look transgression charges and hazard up to beingness successful prison.
None of the accused are presently successful jail, though some person served clip successful pre-trial detention.
Tens of thousands of radical protested crossed the state past period to people the third day of the crash, which sparked widespread and lasting anger.
No governmental authoritative will beryllium successful the dock successful this trial.
Two erstwhile ministers, including ex-transport curate Kostas Karamanlis, were referred to justness by parliament successful a abstracted procedure, but lone look misdemeanour charges astatine present.
Valuable grounds is feared to person been mislaid when, conscionable days aft the collision, a bulldozer levelled the site.
“(Our) children were burnt and thrown successful the garbage. I want answers,” said Kanella Andreadou, whose girl died successful the crash.
Despite the disaster, Mitsotakis comfortably won re-election conscionable months aboriginal and went connected to decision two parliamentary votes of no-confidence connected the issue.
Elections are scheduled successful Greece adjacent year. Mitsotakis’s blimpish New Democracy enactment leads successful sentiment polls, but is not expected to summation capable support for an implicit majority.
Source: AFP
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