A 10,000-page case file related to the deadly Tempi train crash that killed 57 people in February 2023 has been delivered to the Hellenic Parliament. The file includes testimonies and evidence that mention former ministers, including ex-Transport Minister Kostas Karamanlis, and is now available for Members of Parliament to study under strict conditions.
House Speaker Nikitas Kaklamanis announced that the case file will be accessible to MPs from Wednesday morning in Room 168. Access will be allowed daily from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. for a 30-day period. A specially designated digital reading room has been set up to prevent data leaks, and printing of the material is prohibited.
“We are doing something that has never been done before in Parliament,” Kaklamanis said, referring to the digital access and confidentiality measures taken.
MPs will now evaluate the material and may decide whether to request a pre-investigation committee to explore any criminal liability. Such a motion would require the signatures of at least 30 MPs.
Following the announcement, Zoe Konstantopoulou, president of the opposition party Plefsi Eleftherias, urged opposition leaders to meet on May 5 to coordinate and submit a joint request for a preliminary investigation committee.
On the government side, spokesman Pavlos Marinakis indicated that the administration will follow what he referred to as the “Triantopoulos model,” a reference to the handling of a previous minister’s case that bypassed a parliamentary probe in favor of direct judicial review by the Supreme Court.
“We believe in his [Karamanlis’s] innocence. It will be judged by the independent justice system,” Marinakis said, adding that the case will be handled by five senior judges and not filtered through parliamentary committees.
Karamalis himself released a written statement: “Today it was announced that the case file on the Tempi accident has been forwarded to Parliament. The Larissa Deputy Investigating Judge, without making any assessment or formulating any accusation, asks the Parliament to assess whether there are criminal responsibilities of the former ministers. I am confident of my innocence. As I have stated many times in the past, I am at the disposal of the authorities so that the truth may shine.”
New Democracy spokesman Marinakis accused the opposition of exploiting the tragedy for political gain and repeated that the government would not obstruct the judicial process. He stated that the case file is more extensive than that of the Triantopoulos investigation and must be studied carefully before any conclusions are drawn.
The full case file includes testimonies from top Transport Ministry officials and is expected to be used by MPs to determine whether to invoke the Law on Ministerial Responsibility. The opposition is widely expected to push for an inquiry, while the government has left the door open for participation, depending on how the allegations are framed.
Although the presence of former ministers in the case file raises the possibility of criminal charges, it remains unclear whether the offenses under review will be classified as misdemeanors or felonies. Karamanlis, in particular, had publicly dismissed safety concerns about the railway system just days before the crash, a statement that now forms a key point of political and legal scrutiny.
Two senior officials have already been charged with felonies, and other former transport ministry officials are also under investigation for possible felony charges.
