Tempi train disaster trial: Greek court rejects TV coverage and mandatory defendant appearance, calling request premature

Court rejects two key requests

The Three-Member Felony Appeals Court of Larissa, sitting for its 13th session on Tuesday, rejected requests from lawyers representing victims' families for audiovisual coverage of the trial and for the mandatory personal appearance of all 36 defendants. The presiding judge stated that the request for defendants to appear in person was premature and that the court reserved the right to revisit the matter once the evidentiary phase and witness examination begin.

“The court rejects as premature the request for the appearance of the defendants and reserves the right to return to it with the start of the evidentiary process.”

The prosecutor had already recommended rejecting both requests during the previous session, arguing that the defendants' physical presence is not required at this procedural stage. Most defendants have been represented by their lawyers, as permitted under Greek criminal procedure, a practice that victims' relatives had challenged given the gravity of the case.

Earlier motions also denied

Tuesday's rulings bring to four the number of prosecution-support requests that have been turned down by the court. In earlier sessions, the bench rejected a motion to transmit trial minutes to the Supreme Court investigator handling the case of former transport minister Kostas Achilleas Karamanlis, who has been referred on charges of breach of duty. A second request, seeking the production of a communication document between the State Legal Council and former deputy transport minister Kostas Kyranakis regarding the Greek state's participation in the trial, was also denied.

The Greek state has joined the proceedings as a civil party alongside victims' relatives, injured passengers, and train passengers, but its representation is limited to three stationmasters on duty the night of the accident and the former head of the Larissa Inspection Department of the Traffic Support Service for Central and Southern Greece.

The defendants and charges

A total of 36 individuals stand accused, including executives and employees of the Hellenic Railways Organisation (OSE), ERGOSE, the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, Hellenic Train, and the Railway Regulatory Authority. The charges stem from alleged omissions related to the implementation of contract 717, supervision of the railway network, the transfer of a stationmaster, operations at Larissa railway station on the night of 28 February, and the lack of safety measures on the Larissa–Neoi Poroi section of track.

Five distinct offences have been brought against the defendants depending on their roles, including the felony of dangerous interference with fixed-track transport with possible intent, involving acts that endangered transport safety. Three defendants, Pavlos Kouzis, Emmanouil Georgilakis, and Spyros Pateras, were physically present in court on Tuesday.

What happens next

The trial continues with the examination of further requests submitted by both the prosecution support lawyers and the defence. The court has indicated that motions from both sides will occupy upcoming sessions now that the procedural stage of legal standing has been completed. The possibility of revisiting the personal appearance of defendants remains open as the trial progresses into its evidentiary phase.