Mother of Tempe Victim Blasts Greek Government in European Parliament

The mother of a Tempe train disaster victim blasted the Greek government in an emotional speech at the European Parliament on Monday.

Maria Karystianou, who represents the families of the 57 victims of the train accident in Tempe, said that the Greek government “initiated a sequence of bad manipulations and methods, which insults the memory of our dead and the dignity of the victims who survived.”

She was speaking in the Committee on Petitions of the European Parliament (PETI), which acts as the bridge between the citizens and the European institutions.

Karystianou noted the government through the Parliament provides the competent minister at the time and current MP Kostas Karamanlis full immunity.

“It doesn’t even refer him to face justice,” she said. Karamanlis resigned after the accident at Tempe in February 2023 that claimed the lives of 53 young people. However, he was re-elected in the general elections of June 2023.

“This blatantly violates fundamental principles of the Rule of Law,” Karystianou said and added that there is a collapse of trust in relation to the proper functioning of the institutions in Greece.

Failures and cover-ups following the crash at Tempe

Karystianou, whose 20-year-old daughter Marti Psaropoulou died during the crash, underlined a series of failures and cover-ups following the crash.

“In the first 24 hours after the fatal collision, a government cover-up was ordered for which to this day no one has taken responsibility, even though it has been publicly acknowledged,” she said.

“During the collision, flammable and illegal substances caused a huge explosion that incinerated most of them. This cargo was not even declared. Within 5 days they moved the debris and filled the area completely. Crucial evidence of guilt was lost,” she added.

She blamed the government for preventing the prosecutor and investigator from intervening. “Today we and all the Greek people are certain of the cover-up,” Karystianou said.

In a video message marking the first anniversary of the Tempe train tragedy, Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis promised that those found guilty will be punished.

“Some relief will come when all the causes of the evil are brought to light,” Mitsotakis said. “When all doubts are dispelled. When even the most absurd rumors are disproved. And, above all, when the guilty are punished. And that will happen.”

A definitive account of what happened and who may be at fault has not been delivered, with investigators in an official inquiry not due to finish questioning until March 8th.

EU investigation in a tangle

The ongoing investigation by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) on the Tempe tragedy shows that the issue of Greek railway safety is in a twenty-year tangle, showing Greece’s insufficient investment planning and the European Commission’s lax monitoring mechanisms.

Two key projects, namely the installation of the European Train Control System (ETCS) and  the upgrade of the communication and signaling system on trains, both meant to ensure railway safety, have not been implemented.

The first project should have been completed in the 2000 to 2006 period while the second was to have been completed between 2000 and 2013. Both projects were based on digital technology in order to avoid human error, such as was the case with the Tempe disaster that cost the nation fifty-seven lives.

Related: Greek Railway Disaster Expert Speaks of Crucial Omissions in Tempe Probe