A judicial formula has reportedly been found to satisfy a standing demand by hunger striker Panos Ruci for the exhumation of his son’s body, one of the 57 victims of the February 2023 Tempi rail collision.

Ruci, whose son Dennis, 22, was killed in the crash, has camped out in front of Parliament over the past few weeks and continued a hunger strike to press relevant prosecutors to allow the exhumation for the purpose of DNA and toxicology testing.

According to reports, a previous lawsuit he filed against a coroner had been shelved. However, with a decision by an appellate level prosecutor, the suit will be reopened and sent to a first instance prosecutor for review.

The decision, if confirmed, is viewed as employing a “legal loophole” to achieve a fast-track decision for exhumation. Moreover, it will reportedly apply to other close relatives of Tempi victims deciding to request an exhumation of their loved ones’ bodies.

Hours after the development, however, in speaking for Ruci, political party leader Zoe Konstantopoulou said the latter and his family have not been officially notified over the approval, and therefore, the man’s hunger strike will continue.

Konstantopoulou, who served as the Parliament president during the six months of the first SYRIZA coalition government in the shambolic first half of 2015 and later founded the leftist and Eurosceptic Plefsi Eleftherias (Course of Freedom) party, has nevertheless attracted her fair share of criticism for simultaneously being a lawmaker and appearing as legal counsel for family members of Tempi victims. Her small party managed to enter Parliament during the last general election and field MPs in the legislature.

“At this moment, there is no action being taken over the requests made by the family, nor has any been ordered. All the requests made by the family have either been rejected or are pending, with no response given. There has been no positive response to any of our requests,” she said, with Ruci by her side.

Last week, Greece’s supreme court proceeded with a very unusual public announcement warning, among others, that the statute of limitations could run out on misdemeanor charges filed against several defendants in the explosive case, given that an exhaustive judicial investigation has already exceeded two years.