LARISSA, October 2026 — Tempi trial testimony from relatives of the 2023 rail crash victims resumed on Monday 12 October, with 25 witnesses scheduled over three sessions in Larissa.
Relatives are giving evidence before the Three-Member Felony Court of Appeal of Larissa, in central Greece. The trial is continuing, and the court has made no findings.
Its previous session, on Wednesday 7 October, stopped before Panos Ruci, father of victim Denis Ruci, could finish his evidence. He felt suddenly unwell and was taken to Larissa General Hospital.
Before the break, Ruci gave Tempi trial testimony for about an hour.
“Twelve minutes, two trains were moving on the same line and nobody understood that in 12 minutes they would no longer exist,” he told the court.
“The wound remains open, it has not closed. We are still grieving,” Ruci said. “I will not stop until I learn how my child died.”
Hunger strike and exhumation
In his Tempi trial testimony, he told the court he respected and trusted the justice system, and said that justice must be independent.
Ruci spoke about the hunger strike he began at Syntagma Square in Athens in September 2025. It followed the end of the pre-trial investigation by special appeals investigating judge Sotiris Bakaimis in August.
“What I could not bear was when Mr Bakaimis decided to close the file,” he said. “I decided, without telling anyone, to go on hunger strike.”
He described his requests for the exhumation of his son’s remains, for samples and for special tests. Initially, he saw their acceptance as vindication, but he said he soon felt misled.
“There are many questions we have not had answers to,” Ruci said. “I do not know if it is my child in there.”
Greek City Times reported in October 2025 that Ruci ended his hunger strike after 23 days.
Court rejects phone timetable request
Shortly before Wednesday’s session of Tempi trial testimony ended, the presiding judge said the court had rejected a request about the seized mobile phone of the night-shift stationmaster, who is among the defendants.
In an earlier ruling, the court ordered experts from the Hellenic Police Forensic Science Division to examine his calls, messages and apps such as Viber, and to try to recover any deleted files.
A lawyer for the victims’ families asked the court to set a deadline for that report.
However, the prosecutor proposed rejecting the request, since the original decision already required delivery “as soon as possible”. The court agreed and rejected it.
Tempi trial testimony is due to continue at the week’s two remaining sessions.
Source: Ta Nea
The post Tempi Trial Testimony From Victims’ Relatives Resumes With 25 Witnesses appeared first on Greek City Times.