Accountability, Inquiry, and Democratic Response After Tragedy

As Maria Karystianou moves toward electoral politics, reactions ripple across Greek parties, contributing to a rupture inside SYRIZA and the removal of one of its MEPs from the European Parliament group

Greece is heading into the fully political year of 2026, during which dilemmas will be tested, old and new faces evaluated, and party balances and actual influence within society revealed—the factors that will ultimately determine the results of the national elections

In a TV interview, Tempi 2023 Victims’ Relatives Association head Maria Karystianou did not rule out future political involvement.

Observers who have closely followed political and judicial developments in recent years note that while the Tempi tragedy and its judicial handling have further shaken public confidence, they merely added to a longstanding sense of frustration among citizens

Three years after Greece’s worst rail disaster, 36 defendants will stand trial in Larissa as investigators present a 60,000-page case file detailing the 2023 Tempi tragedy

The exhumation of Dennis Ruci’s body has been delayed to allow a foreign technical expert, chosen by the family, to be present throughout the process and oversee new toxicological tests abroad

After 23 days without food, Panos Ruci ended his hunger strike once authorities approved his demands for new forensic tests on his son’s remains from the deadly Tempi train crash — yet he continues his vigil in central Athens to thank his supporters

The mother of a Tempi train crash victim submitted a third request to exhume her daughter’s remains, following prosecutors’ decision to approve a similar petition by another victim’s father

Larissa prosecutors will approve exhumations and toxicology tests for Tempi railway crash victims, as families seek clarity on causes of death

Emergency medical teams continue monitoring activist Panos Ruci during his 18th day of a hunger strike in Athens

A court in Larissa has allowed the exhumation of a Tempi rail crash victim for DNA identification, as another grieving father, Pano Ruci, marks day 17 of his hunger strike

From early Russian dissidents to Gandhi and Bobby Sands, hunger strikes have been used as a desperate form of protest. The case of Panos Ruci in Athens shows both their symbolic power and their devastating toll on the human body

In addition to gatherings scheduled for today at 6:30 pm across Greece, solidarity events are also planned abroad, including in Cyprus, New York (at the Greek Consulate), and Reykjavik, Iceland

After mounting public pressure and a hunger strike, a first instance court prosecutor in the central city of Larissa ordered a preliminary inquiry to permit Pano Ruci to exhume the body of his son, Denni. However, the latter said he'll continue his hunger strike

Families of Tempi train crash victims continue to press for answers, with a fresh request for exhumation to allow DNA testing and toxicological examinations

Greece’s top judicial officials stress that the trial must proceed swiftly, rejecting calls to reopen the investigation despite renewed pleas from victims’ families

Supreme Court Prosecutor Konstantinos Tzavellas made the statement after receiving a memorandum by relatives of the Tempi rail disaster asking for supplementary investigations into the case, and in light of a high-profile hunger strike by the father of one victim

For seven days, Panos Ruci has refused food outside Greece’s parliament, demanding permission to exhume his son’s body as public solidarity with his protest continues to grow

Panos Ruci, father of 22-year-old Denis, starts a dry hunger strike outside the Greek Parliament, challenging authorities over doubts about the identity of the body handed to him