tragedy in Tempe

A “ghost” investigation into the seizure of the audio files of the OSE on the night of the Tempe tragedy had started a year ago, but allegedly… got lost in the drawers of EL.AS.!

As it turns out, the much-discussed removal of conversations from the OSE’s recording system a few hours after the train accident is now not being investigated for the first time, following the revelation of “Sunday’s Step” and the relevant report by the president of the Greek Orthodox Church, Nikos Androulakis, to the Areo Pago. On the contrary, as can be seen from the documents available to “To Vima”, the matter had also become the target of an – unknown until now – investigation by the Athens District Attorney’s Office.

The search for the culprits seems to have started in March 2023, on another occasion, but then (and curiously) the relevant file… disappeared, and its name was changed. “Vima’s” investigation reveals that the relevant file was registered in the court records as “OTE case” (and not OSE case). No significant further actions were ever taken on the matter, while the relevant court order was forgotten in the drawers.

The editing of dialogues

As it has already been revealed, the conversations of the protagonists of the Tempe tragedy had been removed prematurely and illegally in the first hours of the event from the recording system of the official conversations of the OSE. And then a section of them was edited-falsified on March 1, 2023 to the public, which had the effect of highlighting the “human error” of the station master.

It is recalled that the audio documents in question were officially handed over to the competent judicial and police authorities two 24 hours later.

Who removed the chats?

Clear new evidence that there was a removal by OSE officials of the audio material, from the first hours of the tragic event already, can be found in the case file. Specifically:

– Firstly, from document 9011744 of March 1, 2023, drawn up by a senior official of the OSE in Larissa and sent to the relevant government agencies, in which he incorrectly records and incorrectly analyzes the station master-driver dialogues. To then add in his document “unfortunately, serious errors and omissions caused the serious and fatal incident”, putting human error in his conclusions. In fact, subsequently, this incorrect analysis of the prematurely canceled audio file also leads to incorrect conclusions and the conclusion of the experts of the OSE (Gerapetritis committee), who thus considered that the train driver supposedly realized his wrong course and was asking the station master for confirmation, something that had never happened before.

In fact, this specific point had led, in September 2023, to legal intervention in the judicial authorities of Larissa by the lawyer Vassilis Zisimatoswho legally represents the family of the deceased train driver Giorgos Koutsoubas. In his said document he notes that “the specific dialogue as described in said opinion is not contained anywhere, at any point in the existing case file, neither in the transcripts of the conversations nor in the audio files provided by the OSE”.

– also, a senior official of the OSE (later killed in a traffic accident) and one of the people who had been present on the night of the accident at the headquarters of the Organization, on Karolou Street, testified in March 2023 that he had kept two “sticks” (portable memories USB) with copies of the conversations. In addition, according to a subsequent informal internal investigation carried out at the OSE, it was allegedly established that an employee of the Agency accessed – at dawn of the same day – the recording system in question, removed the audio file and then emailed it to its managers. And all this, while parallel entrances of employees and copying of the recordings on digital discs took place, according to other testimonies, in the first 24 hours and in the recording system that exists in Larissa.

Started but not finished

In continuation of the above and until a few days ago, there was the general impression that no legal proceedings had been initiated for this removal of the recordings of the train conversations on the fateful night. However, newer “Step” information overturns the facts. And they raise new questions.

Apparently, a few days after the publication – on March 1, 2023 – of the talks in question in the media, a judicial investigation was ordered by the Athens Prosecutor’s Office. For this reason. Based on the then (March 2023) complaints of the Panhellenic Union of Personnel Attraction of the OSE, which spoke of leakage and “cutting” of the talks in question.

The answer Terezaki

The relevant file seems to have been then assigned to a First Instance prosecutor, who appears to have requested – as senior judicial officers reported – its investigation by the Security Department of the Hellenic Police. in Omonia, in whose jurisdiction belongs the central building of the OSE, on Karolou Street.

According to the same judicial sources, “the file in question moved for months between police agencies without any significant action being taken and the investigation, even though 13 months had passed, seemed not to have been completed.” However, it has not been justified why there was this involvement and inaction. The questions are growing, because competent officers of EL.AS. they pointed out that “there was never an assignment of the investigation in question to the police department of Omonia. There appears to be no relevant record and no police officer is said to be aware of or to have undertaken such a search for OSE leaks.”

Finally, “To Vima tis Kyriaki” submitted a question to the managing director of the OSE, Panagiotis Terezakis, regarding the reported investigation of the judicial authorities at the OSE building on Karolou Street. Mr. Terezakis’ answer was that “by law he cannot answer the relevant question”.