Rail crash victims’ families to demand lifting of ministers,’ MPs’ immunity

The Association of Relatives of the Victims of the 2023 Tempe railway disaster is planning to send a petition to Parliament demanding legislative action to lift ministers’ and MPs’ immunity from criminal prosecution.

Specifically, the petition requests that Parliament activate Article 73, Paragraph 6 of the Greek Constitution, which gives citizens the right to exercise a legislative initiative. Each petition needs to amass at least 500,000 signatures and cannot pertain to budgetary, foreign policy or defense matters.

The association’s petition for lifting protections enjoyed by ministers and MPs against criminal prosecution has gathered more than 660,000 signatures. It comes amid calls for a more thorough investigation into the underlying causes of the disaster, which claimed 57 lives, as a contentious parliamentary inquiry prepares to wrap up proceedings.

“The signatures will be sent to the prosecutor, who is obliged to promptly submit them to Parliament for a vote. In a democratic country, Parliament is obligated to respect the citizens’ wishes. Parliament is obligated to operate in accordance with the law and democratic institutions,” the association’s spokeswoman, Maria Karystianou, who lost her daughter in the crash, said in a social media post.

“It will be very interesting to see how this resolution is treated,” she added.