Association of judges and prosecutors against Konstantopoulou and Karystianou: Wild West scenes, fascist mentality, they want the Tempi trial not to take place

As stated in the statement about Zoe Konstantopoulou and Maria Karystianou, what happened yesterday and was captured in a video by the president of Plefsi Eleftherias and in a post by Mrs. Karystianou on X “conceals a fascist mentality.”

“It is their declared intention now to dynamite the situation and by all means prevent the trial for the Tempi accident from taking place. The masks have fallen and their false interest in justice has been revealed,” the Union's statement continues.

According to the statement, “their sole goal is the political exploitation of a criminal proceeding by exploiting loopholes in the legislation and the cover of parliamentary immunity, cracks in a system that allows such acrobatics.”

The statement concludes, finally, by noting that “prosecutors do not need special encouragement to initiate criminal prosecutions for ex officio offenses, nor do bar associations need special encouragement for serious disciplinary offenses of their members, nor does the Government need to take the necessary legislative measures that we have long proposed so that the proceedings in court can begin smoothly on Monday.”

The entire statement of the Association of Judges and Prosecutors on Zoe Konstantopoulou and Maria Karystianou

The unprecedented events taking place in the Larissa Court with the Konstantopoulou-Karystianou duo and the commission of serious flagrant felonies and misdemeanors are reminiscent of scenes from the Wild West. Trampling, occupying public spaces, expelling judicial officers who are at the limits of human endurance, illegal video recordings are circulating on the internet as a feat and confirmation of a false anti-systemism that hides a fascist mentality. It is their declared intention now to dynamite the situation and by all means prevent the trial for the Tempi accident from taking place. The masks have fallen and their false interest in delivering Justice has been revealed. They have pitted against each other the relatives of the victims who have been waiting for 3 years for the start of the proceedings, the lawyers who have prepared to exercise their defense duties, and the entire society that demands Justice.

Their sole goal is the political exploitation of a criminal proceeding by exploiting loopholes in the legislation and the cover of parliamentary immunity, cracks in a system that allows such acrobatics. Prosecutors do not need special encouragement to initiate criminal prosecutions for ex officio offenses, nor do bar associations for serious disciplinary offenses of their members, nor does the Government need to take the necessary legislative measures that we have long proposed so that the proceedings in court can begin smoothly on Monday.

What preceded 

The initial complaints made on Thursday afternoon by Maria Karystianou, uploading a photo with Gratsias, Konstantopoulou and Routsi at the Larissa courthouse, were followed up by the president of Plefsi Eleftherias in the early hours of Friday.

Recording an “information video” from inside the Larissa courthouse, Zoe Konstantopoulou describes that “we are in the second floor of the Larissa courthouse, the time is 00:25 at night and right now a lawsuit is being filed by parents and relatives, by Panos Routsi, Maria Karystianou and others for the incredible aberrations that took place in the courts.”

Explaining why the lawsuits are being filed, Ms. Konstantopoulou says that “a judge ordered us to get copies of the confiscated videos that the experts had had for 3 years. When the court confiscated them, the judge finally fainted and they were not given to us. And today when another judge decided to give them to us, this judge came after hours trembling to revoke this decision. We are talking about abuse of power and these judges should be ashamed.”

She also spoke of targeting by the Union of Judges and Prosecutors on the occasion of the announcement by the EDE regarding "irresponsible statements by politicians and those involved in the Tempi trial" that "conceal fraudulent intentions", asking the president of the Union "tell us what you did in Larissa on March 10, tell us why the judge fainted and how come you didn't issue any statement about it?"

The photo and the complaint of Karystianou

Earlier, Maria Karystianou had expressed sadness and anger about the trial process for the videos of the Tempi tragedy, denouncing the indifference of the competent authorities and complete disrespect on the part of the judicial authorities in Larissa.

In fact, she accompanied her post with a photo, in which her lawyer and close associate, Maria Gratsia, as well as Zoe Konstantopoulou and Panos Routsi were seen next to her.

In the photo uploaded by Maria Karystianou at the beginning of the article: from left to right, Zoe Konstantopoulou, Maria Gratsia and Maria Karystianou are sitting, while Panos Routsis is standing

As Maria Karystianou reported, from the morning (Thursday) until 8:30 p.m., for over ten hours at the Larissa courthouse, relatives of the victims and lawyers waited for the continuation of the trial for the missing videos, without being informed about the interruption, while the president of the court was also absent, with no one answering the questions regarding the sick leave she had taken.

As she pointed out, the absent president was replaced by a deputy, who announced the postponement of the trial to April 2, causing disappointment to those who had traveled to be present.

Mrs. Karystianou continued her complaint, stating that, despite their request for the delivery of copies of the seized evidence of the case file, the process was delayed for hours. Despite efforts to locate the evidence, no one knew where the evidence was, resulting in them searching for five hours without any results, experiencing, as she says, the mockery and dysfunction of the system.

She insisted, moreover, on the cover-up and cover-up, speaking of a “code of silence” in the Larissa courthouse.