By Ioanna Mandrou

For the first time, the leadership of the Judiciary, the president and the prosecutor of the Supreme Court, in a joint statement, categorically deny reports of omissions and delays in the judicial proceedings for the fatal accident in Tempe.

With an institutional invocation of the independence of the judiciary, the president of the Supreme Court, Ioanna Klapa, and the prosecutor, Georgia Adelini, not only refute reports about omissions in the judicial investigations about Tempi, as well as criticisms leveled against the prosecutor of the supreme court herself, but provide full information for the legal proceedings for the justice of the Tempe victims.

As they state, among other things, in their announcement, the investigation has already been completed in a very short time, 31 people in total have been prosecuted as responsible for the tragic accident, while they emphasize that the trial for those responsible will be held soon.

In particular, in the joint announcement, the president and prosecutor of the Supreme Court, among others, highlight them. “Rejecting, with all our strength, the above persuasive publications, which have the sole purpose of harming the institutions of our country, in order to serve other interests, we emphasize that in this particular case the Greek Judges and Prosecutors are performing their work, a titanic work, with absolute dedication, sparing no effort and personal sacrifices, in an unheard of way, as a result of which the main investigation will soon be completed, approximately one year after the fatal accident, in the context of which 31 people have been accused, so far and it is apparent the trial of the case in a short time, before the competent criminal court. The much-discussed criminal or other liability of political figures is being investigated by the competent Committee of the Parliament, before which the case file has been forwarded, in accordance with the law on the responsibility of Ministers, as stipulated by the Constitution of the Country”.

And they continue: “We assure the victims and the relatives of the victims of the fatal accident, but also all the citizens that the Greek Judges and Prosecutors have proven that, handling serious cases, they carry out their work, with a deep sense of duty, with vigor, independence, impartiality, objectivity and with absolute respect for the principles of the rule of law, as required by the Constitution, the rules of law of the national legal order and the Union law”.

In detail, the joint announcement of the leadership of the Supreme Court

The President and the Prosecutor of the Supreme Court, as representatives of the Greek judicial and prosecutorial officials, consider it their duty, at this critical time for the institution of Justice, to declare the following:

Publications and announcements, which saw the light of day, through the M.M.E., are directed against the Greek Justice and its officials, accusing indifference and faults in the judicial treatment of the “tragedy of Tempe”.

In the most recent cases, in fact, the Greek Judiciary is alleged not to act of its own accord, but to be “dragged” to do its duty regarding this very fatal accident by the European Attorney General, who allegedly hastily summoned the Greek European Commissioner to Strasbourg Prosecutor, Deputy Prosecutor of the Supreme Court, in order to give explanations about the course of the relevant investigation. In fact, as a result of her instructions, the criminal prosecution brought by the Prosecutor of Larissa in a case related to the above tragedy was attributed to this alleged movement. The falsity of the above statements, which have the sole purpose of shaking the trust of the victims and mourners of the aforementioned tragic accident, as well as of all citizens in the Greek Judiciary, is deduced from what is known to those involved in legal science given that the European Public Prosecutor’s Office deals with the investigation and prosecution of serious crimes, which are directed, exclusively, against the financial interests of the European Union.

The above statements and publications were preceded by others, which attempted to “falsify” the image and the work of the Prosecutor of the Supreme Court and to show her, condescendingly, as “naïve”, unable to understand the seriousness of the case and not interested in the award of Justice in a case, which has shocked and continues to shock Panhellenic.

Repelling, with all our strength, the above persuasive publications, which have the sole purpose of harming the institutions of our country, in order to serve other interests, we emphasize that in this particular case the Greek Judges and Prosecutors are performing their work, a titanic work, with absolute dedication, sparing no effort and personal sacrifices, in an unheard of way, resulting in the conclusion, soon, of the main investigation, a year or so after the fatal accident, in the context of which, 31 people have been accused, so far and the in a short time trial of the case, before the competent criminal court. The much-discussed criminal or other liability of political figures is being investigated by the competent Committee of the Parliament, before which the case file has been forwarded, in accordance with the law on the liability of Ministers, as stipulated by the Constitution of the Country.

We assure the victims and relatives of the victims of the deadly accident, as well as all citizens, that the Greek Judges and Prosecutors have proven that, handling serious cases, they carry out their work with a deep sense of duty, with vigor, independence, impartiality, objectivity and with absolute respect for the principles of the rule of law, as required by the Constitution, the rules of law of the national legal order and Union law.