Greek Parliament draws Special Court to try former deputy minister Christos Triantopoulos

Lots drawn in Parliament

The Greek Parliament selected the members of a Special Court by lot on Friday, 30 October 2026, in a public session of its plenary. The court will try Christos Triantopoulos, a former deputy minister to the prime minister, over the alteration of the site of the Tempi crash. Thirteen regular members and six alternates were drawn from the Areios Pagos (Supreme Court) and the Council of State, as the constitution, the parliamentary rules and the law on ministerial responsibility require. The draw was held among members of the Areios Pagos, the Council of State and the Prosecutor's Office of the Areios Pagos. Judges who sat on the Judicial Council, the body that referred the case, were excluded from the draw.

Composition of the court

The court has seven regular members from the Areios Pagos and six from the Council of State. Among the Areios Pagos members drawn as regular judges are Apostolos Fotopoulos, Panagiotis Boltetsos and Stylianí Mpleta, while the Council of State contributes Dimitrios Tomaras and Dimitrios Emmanouilidis. Three alternates come from each of the two courts. The presiding judge is the most senior of the drawn Areios Pagos members and, among those of equal rank, the longest serving. Anna Kalouta was drawn as prosecutor, with Evstathia Kapagianni as her deputy, both from the Prosecutor's Office of the Areios Pagos.

What comes next

Judicial Council order 1/2026 referred Triantopoulos to trial for offences committed while performing his duties. According to Kathimerini, the charge is a misdemeanour of breach of duty linked to the alteration of the crash site. The speaker of Parliament will now send the minutes of the draw to the president of the Special Court. Within 40 to 60 days of that act, the court president must set the start date of the trial, the venue and the list of witnesses, which will include the essential prosecution and defence witnesses. If the parliamentary term ends or Parliament is dissolved in the meantime, the trial will be suspended until a new Parliament is formed. Kathimerini also notes that this is the sixth time the institution of a Special Court has been set up in Greece, and the first time a former minister of a New Democracy government will be tried before one.