In open letter to PM, Tempe train crash victims’ families allege interference in the investigation

Maria Karystianou, who represents the families of the 57 victims of last year’s train accident in Tempe, central Greece, on Friday addressed an open letter to Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, alleging interference with the judicial investigation into the tragedy.

“Why did you intervene in the judicial process before competent authorities had even commenced the official investigation of this tragic accident, particularly when the site should have been preserved untouched as a crime scene?,” Karystianou asks in the letter shared on Facebook, with President Katerina Sakellaropoulou also copied.

Karystianou, whose 19-year-old daughter died at the crash, also asks, “What specific criminal actions did you seek to conceal through the coordinated operation of comprehensive evidence tampering at the [collision] site, and who are the culpable individuals you assisted in evading judicial investigation…?”

She challenges the conservative leader to address these questions or resign, urging him to face justice for the truth to emerge. She also calls on Sakellaropoulou to “honor her institutional role and take a meaningful stand [on the issue].”

Earlier this week, Mitsotakis again dismissed allegations of a government cover-up as “despicable” and criticized attempts to exploit the pain of the victims’ families for political purposes.

Meanwhile, the case file concerning the alleged cover-up at the Tempe crash site has reached Parliament, following a lawsuit filed by the victims’ relatives implicating political figures. The Supreme Court issued the indictment to the Ministry of Justice, with its subsequent submission to Parliament occurring a day before its closure ahead of the European elections on June 9.