Tembi: The court seized photos and videos from the experts

The judicial process in the Monomeles Court of Larissa, regarding the management of video footage from the commercial train connected to the deadly tragedy at Tembi, has taken a new turn.

According to information from onlarissa.gr, the president of the court has ordered the immediate seizure of all digital files in possession of the judicial experts, including photos and videos recorded with mobile phones during the investigation.

The execution of the order is expected to take place within the next few hours, in the presence of police officers from the Larissa Crime Investigation and Detection Department and judicial police officers. The material will be collected from electronic devices and storage media, such as computers, mobile phones, and hard drives used by the experts. The hearing for the case has been scheduled for next Monday, March 9.

In the aftermath, the president of the Plevsi Eleftherias party and lawyer representing the relatives of the victims, Zoe Konstantopoulou, stated: “Today, we won a small, but significant victory, because through the hearing process, which the government tried to delay, we managed to seize the digital files—video, audio, and drone footage. We heard, to our surprise, that these were in the hands of the appointed experts, who had not included them anywhere, did not submit them during the investigation, did not mention them in their reports, and did not present them in any process. This was only revealed through persistent questioning by the prosecution and my colleague, Ms. Valani, in order to highlight this important issue.

We fought a long battle until the court decided to seize the files from all sources, including mobile phones. The experts, especially the witnesses, strongly resisted handing over their phones. There were shocking interventions from the relatives of the victims in the courtroom, with mothers asking, ‘Give us the data so we can see it.’

It was even revealed that just 10 days ago, human bones were discovered at the crime scene. This is an important day, and it could prove to be decisive. We will wait for the seizure to take place. This should not be the way justice is served in our country, and part of the battle we are fighting is so that this will be the last time victims, parents, and relatives have to fight with all their might, with their voices and their whole being, to uncover the truth and reveal the evidence.”

Zoe Konstantopoulou also expressed her shock at the resistance encountered and her admiration for the determination of the mothers and relatives, who will not stop at any obstacle until the truth is revealed.

In turn, Stelios Valanis, the lawyer representing the relatives of the victims, said: “Today, we were all together, a united team. It came to light during the process, after questions that initially the court considered unnecessary, regarding what Mr. Bartzopoulos was doing on the crime scene early in the morning of March 1. What was revealed today is that he was taking videos with his phone, while drone footage was also being taken. These facts had not been included in any case file.

When asked why he chose the material he gave to the investigative authorities, his answer was based on the content of the expert’s report. We all together submitted a request to the court for the seizure of all the physical carriers (laptops, mobile phones, etc.) so that the files could be extracted and the whole of Greece could see what happened. Our request was partially accepted, and we had to wait until 4 p.m. for the court to accept the order for Mr. Bartzopoulos to hand over his phone, which he initially refused to do.”

Lastly, Despina Ganidou, the mother of the tragically deceased Giorgos Papazoglou, commented: “Today, we made a significant effort on our part to have additional digital material seized, which had been taken by the experts. The initial decision was for them to give us copies on a USB stick, which would not have confirmed that we received all the files.”

Eleni Vasara, mother of the late Agapi, also said: “During this long process, many interesting things came to light, things that were not present in the investigating judge’s case file. During the questioning of Mr. Bartzopoulos, he revealed that he had his own photos and videos from the first hours he went to the crime scene after receiving a phone call. It has now come to light after three years that there are stored digital files that were never asked to be included in the case file. After much pain and a lengthy discussion, he was asked to have the digital data seized from the computers, hard drives, and mobile phones. It’s a step forward, and we’ll see where it leads.”