Parliament Draws Judges for Tempi Crash Site Tampering Trial

Supreme Court judge Georgios Papageorgiou will preside over the Tempi special court that will try alleged tampering at the 2023 rail crash site, after a draw in Parliament.

Deputy Supreme Court prosecutor Anna Kalouta will serve as the court’s prosecutor. Efstathia Kapagianni will also sit as her alternate.

MPs held the draw for the Tempi special court in the plenary of Parliament on Friday 30 October, in the presence of the Speaker. Also, Proto Thema reported that the trial should begin before the end of December.

Former deputy minister Christos Triantopoulos is among the accused before the Tempi special court. Alongside him are former Thessaly regional governor Kostas Agorastos and officials from the state machinery.

All of them face charges over the alleged alteration of evidence at the crash site. However, no court has convicted any of them, and the judges have made no findings.

How the Tempi special court was chosen

Under Greek law, a special court tries ministers and former ministers. Its judges come by lot from the Supreme Court, known as Areios Pagos, and the Council of State, the top administrative court.

First, the draw produced seven full members from the Supreme Court. They are Apostolos Fotopoulos, Panagiotis Boltetsos, Styliani Bleta, Maria Giannakopoulou, Alkisti Sianou, Georgios Papageorgiou and Maria Archontaki-Travlou-Tzanetatou.

Then came six full members from the Council of State. They are Dimitrios Tomaras, Vice-President Dimitrios Emmanouilidis, Efstathia Skoura, Konstantia Lazaraki, Aikaterini Roxana and Anastasia-Maria Papadimitriou.

In addition, Iphigeneia Matsouka, Maria Petsali and Erasmia Liouli are alternates from the Areios Pagos bench. Marina-Alexandra Tsakali, Vice-President Ilias Mazos and Ioannis Papagiannis are the Council of State alternates.

Because the law on ministerial responsibility gives the chair to the most senior Supreme Court judge drawn, Papageorgiou will lead the Tempi special court.

A crash that killed 57

The head-on collision near Tempi, in Thessaly, killed 57 people on 28 February 2023. At the time, a passenger train and a freight train were running on the same line.

Triantopoulos resigned as deputy minister in February 2025 amid allegations over evidence at the site. Later, Parliament referred him to justice for alleged breach of duty, and an investigating judge summoned him in November 2025.

Subsequently, an expert report found that gravel and concrete covered about two hectares of the crash site. As a result, collecting material from the ground became almost impossible, according to its findings.

Separately from the Tempi special court, the main criminal trial over the crash continues before a felony appeals court in Larissa. Over recent sessions, victims’ relatives have given evidence there.

Stay connected to Greek City Times for Free on Google News
Click NOW
Stay updated with the latest news from Greece and around the world on greekcitytimes.com.
Contact our newsroom to share your updates, stories, photos, or videos. Follow GCT on WhatsApp, Google News and Apple News.
Advertising