Parents of Tempe victims call for ministerial immunity to be lifted

The parents of victims of the 2023 Tempe railway disaster have filed a request in Parliament calling for the immunity from prosecution of two former transport ministers to be lifted.

Maria Karystianou and Pavlos Aslanidis, whose children were among the 57 victims of the deadly collision, called for former New Democracy minister and sitting MP Kostas Karamanlis and former SYRIZA minister Christos Spirtzis to be investigated over potential criminal liabilities. 

Their application is based on the conclusion of the European Public Prosecutor's Office investigation into the uncompleted contract for the signaling and telecontrol system on the railway and on the legal argument that EU law prevails over the Greek Constitution.

EPPO's probe found indications of breach of duty and misappropriation of funds on the part of Spirtzis and Karamanlis, who served as the...