Greek judicial council refers former minister Triantopoulos to Special Court over Tempi site alteration

Judicial referral and charges

A Greek judicial council issued an irrevocable ruling sending former deputy minister Christos Triantopoulos to trial before the Special Court. The referral charges Triantopoulos with the misdemeanor offense of breach of duty over interventions and leveling operations carried out at the site of the Tempi railway crash, which claimed 57 lives. Former regional governor of Thessaly Kostas Agorastos and three other state officials were also referred to stand trial. The legal proceedings originate from an investigative case file forwarded to parliament after earthworks altered the terrain in the days immediately following the train collision. Government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis stated that the executive branch maintains complete confidence in judicial authorities while noting the ongoing procedural framework.

“The current development constitutes an intermediate stage until the final decision of Justice, and until then the presumption of innocence applies.”

Opposition demands for resignations

The decision prompted swift demands from opposition leaders for government accountability, focusing directly on Justice Minister Giorgos Floridis. Floridis had drawn criticism for earlier remarks in the Hellenic Parliament dismissive of claims regarding site alteration. Speaking at the Olympia Forum on 29 September 2026, former prime minister Alexis Tsipras stated that the judicial council's decision directly challenged the justice minister's standing and insisted that Floridis must step down.

“The one who, following today's decision, if he has the elementary political sensitivity, ought to resign from his post, is the Minister of Justice.”

Scrutiny over emergency operations

PASOK spokesperson Kostas Tsoukalas and lawmaker Panagiotis Doudonis emphasized that the referral resulted from their party's formal initiative to establish a parliamentary preliminary inquiry. SYRIZA spokesperson Giorgos Panagiotopoulos cited contractor statements indicating that site leveling and wagon removal commenced at 04:36 in the morning after the crash, asking why Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis did not order work halted upon visiting the location. Anna Papadopoulou, deputy spokesperson for ELAS, asked who authorized the alterations and noted that Triantopoulos had stated he was instructed by the prime minister to spend five days at the scene.

Justice minister defends remarks

On 30 September 2026, Giorgos Floridis defended his previous statements during an interview on radio station Parapolitika 90.1, rejecting calls for his resignation. Floridis maintained that his parliamentary phrasing had referred solely to politicians building a narrative around missing wagons, lost passengers, and alleged fuel smuggling. He stated that while the court referral concerned interventions that could potentially have risked losing evidence, no factual investigative material was actually destroyed during the site clearance.

“The most vindicated phrase is that one.”

Debate over Article 86 and ministerial liability

The referral also renewed dispute between the government and opposition parties over Article 86 of the Greek Constitution, which dictates ministerial immunity and prosecution procedures. PASOK representatives argued that the ruling New Democracy majority had proposed constitutional revisions that preserve parliamentary authority over criminal proceedings rather than referring politicians directly to ordinary magistrates. Government representatives rejected the criticism, noting that the judicial council had retained the charges as formulated without returning the file to parliament for modification.