Greek Tempi train disaster trial sees prosecutor evaluate new victim‑support requests

The prosecutor of the Larissa Criminal Court is set to rule on a series of new requests submitted by victim‑support lawyers in the trial over the deadly Tempi train crash. The motions call for a reshuffle of the order in which witnesses are examined, the addition of new witnesses, the lifting of confidentiality on certain documents and the introduction of electronic correspondence between the Ministry of Transport and the rail bodies OSE, ERGOSE, the Regulatory Authority for Railways (RA) and Hellenic Train concerning contract 717.

The requests also seek to upgrade the charges against two former Hellenic Train executives from negligent homicide to homicide with a possible element of intent, and to expand the indictment to cover offences of exposure and explosion. The case presently names 36 defendants – senior staff from OSE, ERGOSE, the Ministry of Transport, Hellenic Train and RA – across five distinct crimes, including dangerous interference with transport (33 defendants) and negligent homicide (35 defendants).

Proposed new witnesses include fire‑service officers, the former OSE chief executive (2021‑2023) and the former chief executive of Interstar Security, which oversees rail‑network video surveillance.