Tempi Train Crash Trial Delayed as Defense Seeks Suspension

The criminal trial over the July 2023 train collision in Tempi was paused on Monday, 20 July, to allow the defence to file objections and requests. Lawyers for the accused, many of them former ERGOSE officials, asked the court to suspend the prosecutions and defer the case until the European Public Prosecutor’s Office concludes its investigation into Contract 717, which financed the railway project.

Relatives of the victims protested the defence’s demands, while the defence argued that former executives could not be held responsible for an accident that occurred years after they left office. The prosecutor will consider the defence’s applications after the final submissions are made. The court plans to hold at least ten sessions per month, with the next hearing scheduled for early September.