The Tempi trial will resume on April 1. Before the adjournment, the presiding judge of the Three-Member Court of Appeal for Felonies in Larissa began calling out the names of the defendants, but interrupted proceedings due to reactions from victims’ relatives and lawyers protesting the inadequacy of the courtroom.
From early morning, the courtroom was already overcrowded, with relatives and lawyers strongly protesting the conditions, as the space proved far too small to accommodate the number of defendants, legal representatives, and family members present.
“They spent €1.6 million on this and not even half of us can fit,” Panos Routsis commented characteristically.
The President of the Plenary of the Greek Bar Associations, Andreas Koutsolampros, submitted a request to adjourn the day’s hearing of the Tempi accident trial, based on Article 22(4) of the Code on the Organization of Courts and the Status of Judicial Officers.
On the first day, the trial was interrupted 4 times, with relatives and lawyers accusing Justice Minister Giorgos Floridis of negligence.
The prosecutor proposed rejecting the request, stating that “there is no scope for applying this provision, as the reasons cited are not temporary.”
“We want dignity! Dignity so that you can try those responsible!” a victim’s relative shouted, while Maria Karystianou asked the judges whether they had ever conducted a trial under such conditions.
“The courtroom is categorically and irrevocably unsuitable,” emphasized a lawyer representing the victims’ families, adding, addressing the bench: “Do not deliberate and return with the same reasoning, because you will be holding a trial without lawyers.”
A total of 36 defendants were expected to appear before the Three-Member Court of Appeal for Felonies in Larissa, with 33 of them facing felony charges. The only one present in the courtroom was the former head of OSE, Spyros Pateras.
Sources: Καθημερινή, News247, Εφ.Συν.
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