One million three hundred thousand signatures were submitted to the Greek Parliament, calling for accountability and the abolition of parliamentary immunity—a citizen-led initiative by Maria Karystianou, who lost her daughter in the Tempi train tragedy.
Speaking to journalists, she said, “We want impunity to end. We are waiting to see what Parliament will do with our request.”
“We submitted the signatures we collected regarding the law on parliamentary and ministerial immunity. We are asking for the obvious. We are asking for the punishment of politicians who are accountable when criminal liability is established. We demand that the Constitution no longer be violated, as its first articles stipulate that we are all equal before the law,” Ms. Karystianou added.
Immunity request to be examined on Tuesday
Following Ms. Karystianou’s request, the Ethics Committee of the Greek Parliament is expected to review the request to lift the parliamentary immunity of 14 New Democracy (ND) MPs.
Ms. Karystianou submitted the request to lift the MPs’ immunity following her April 10, 2025, complaint regarding the MPs’ alleged criminal acts: a) breach of duty (Article 259 of the Penal Code), b) abuse of power (Article 239 of the Penal Code), and c) high treason (Article 134 of the Penal Code).
The 14 MPs are:
- Panagiotis Kappatos,
- Maria Antoniou,
- Georgios Vrettakos,
- Angeliki Delikari,
- Athanasios Zempilis,
- Konstantina Karabatsoli,
- Maria-Alexandra Kefala,
- Konstantinos Kefalogiannis,
- Neoklis Kritikos,
- Periklis Mandas,
- Alexandros Markogiannakis,
- Thomais (Gina) Oikonomou
- Stavros Papasotiriou
- Asimina Skondra.
Who is Maria Karystianou?
Maria Karystianou, a mother who heartbreakingly lost her 20-year-old daughter in the Tempi railway disaster—which took the lives of 57 people—has emerged as a tragic heroine. She has shown she’s not just any ordinary mother, but also a champion for justice.
After the Tempi disaster, she began speaking for the innocent victims of the tragic railway collision and their grieving families. She also highlighted the neglect of railway safety officials, which, truth be told, has not been adequately addressed by any government since Greece’s 2010 bankruptcy.
Ms. Karystianou refused to “grieve silently” as some government members indirectly suggested. Instead, the grieving mother ignited a movement seeking to hold every guilty party accountable, whether they’re politicians, businessmen, senior executives, railway employees, or common criminals.
Her petition successfully collected over 1.3 million signatures from ordinary Greek citizens urging the government to hold every political figure involved in the outcome of the fatal railway journey to account.
See all the latest news from Greece and the world at Greekreporter.com. Contact our newsroom to report an update or send your story, photos and videos. Follow GR on Google News and subscribe here to our daily email!
