Tempi trial: Proceedings to resume on July 20 – Adjournment request over Contract 717 takes centre stage

The trial over the Tempi rail disaster was adjourned until next Monday, July 20, when the stage concerning objections and requests submitted by the defendants is expected to be completed. Some defence lawyers have already presented their independent claims ahead of the prosecutor’s formal reading of the charges, in the interest of judicial efficiency.

The main issue to arise during the last two hearings of the Larissa Three-Member Court of Appeal for Felonies concerns the adjournment request submitted by lawyers representing accused ERGOSE executives, who invoked paragraph 1 of Article 59 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

The provision stipulates that “when the outcome of a criminal trial depends on another case in which criminal proceedings have been initiated, the first trial is adjourned until an irrevocable judgment has been issued in the second.”

The European Public Prosecutor’s Office case

According to the defence lawyers, the case linked to the Tempi trial is the one launched by the Greek branch of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office before the disaster and concerns the management of EU funds for the implementation of Contract 717, a project co-financed by the European Union.

In the European Public Prosecutor’s Office case, ERGOSE executives are accused of financial offences related to the extensions granted for the completion of the contract. Some of the same individuals are also defendants in the Tempi trial, this time over omissions linked to delays in implementing the project.

In this case, they have been prosecuted for the felony offence of disrupting the safety of transport, as well as three additional misdemeanours.

The defence lawyers reiterated their request for an adjournment today, arguing that the two indictments are “identical” and that there is a risk of two parallel trials being held in Athens and Larissa concerning the same subject matter and involving the same expert witnesses and witnesses.

The prosecutor is expected to state her position on the adjournment requests once the final defence lawyers have completed their submissions on Monday.

Defence arguments on behalf of an OSE executive

At the beginning of today’s hearing, the lawyers representing the accused former director-general of OSE’s General Directorate of Network presented their arguments.

The defendant, who served as director-general from July 30 to November 15, 2019, is accused, among other things, of failing to ensure the repair of damage caused by a fire at an OSE facility outside Larissa, which was connected to the operation of the remote-control system.

His lawyers argued that the remote-control system in Larissa was not operational in 2019 and, therefore, that the damage caused by the fire played no role in the events that followed. They also stressed that OSE’s Board of Directors was solely responsible for carrying out the relevant works.

Schedule of upcoming hearings

The presiding judge also announced the hearing schedule for September and October, noting that the aim is to hold at least ten hearings each month, with the possibility of increasing that number depending on the progress of the proceedings.

The first hearing after the summer recess has been scheduled for September 7, while the final hearing before the August break will take place on July 28.