Chaos and Crowding Force Immediate Adjournment of Tempi Disaster Trial

07:54 24/3/2026 - Πηγή: iEfimerida

The long-awaited trial into Greece's deadliest rail disaster collapsed into chaos just hours after opening, as the court was forced to adjourn until April 1 due to severe overcrowding and an emotional uprising by victims' families.

Presiding Judge Georgia Stefanidou halted

proceedings after a 4.5-hour session marked by four separate interruptions.

The 283-square-meter hall at the Gaiopolis center proved unable to accommodate 250 lawyers, hundreds of witnesses, and the families of the 57 people killed in the February 2023 head-on train collision.

Furious parents, many of whom lost children in their early 20s, were forced to sit on the defendants' benches due to a lack of seating.

Outraged relatives shouted "shame" and "you trampled their memory" as the first five of 36 defendants, including former OSE rail chief Spyros Pateras, entered the room.

Mr. Pateras was forced to retreat to the lobby amid heavy jeering.

Attorneys for the victims announced they will appeal to the Supreme Court to move the trial to a larger venue in Athens, citing fire safety hazards and the indignity of the current setting.

"This courtroom is a ‘red line’ for the families," one lawyer said. "They will not return to a room that cannot hold their grief or the scale of this case."

The 36 defendants face charges including the felony of endangering transport safety, which carries a potential life sentence.

While the 2023 crash was initially blamed on human error, the 1,200-page indictment focuses on systemic failures and missing safety systems.

Bar associations have threatened a total boycott of the proceedings unless the Ministry of Justice provides a suitable facility by next week.

As the 2026 judicial calendar becomes increasingly compressed, legal observers warn that further delays could jeopardize the prosecution’s ability to reach a verdict before statutes of limitation expire for several misdemeanor counts.

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