Tempi trial: "If there had been a signal, the children would have lived" — Rutsi testimony
The father of Dennis Rutsi testified before the Three-Member Appeals Court of Larissa regarding the rail disaster at Tempi. A total of 25 witnesses are expected this week.
Rutsi's testimony in Tempi trial: "I will not stop until I know how my child died"
Testimony from relatives of victims continued on Monday before the Three-Member Criminal Court of Appeals in Larissa, where the case of the railway disaster at Tempi is being tried. According to Ethnos, across three sessions scheduled for the week, a total of 25 witnesses are expected to testify.
The previous Wednesday, the session was abruptly suspended when Panos Rutsi, father of Dennis Rutsi who lost his life in the disaster, suddenly felt unwell and was transferred to Larissa General Hospital. Before the interruption, Mr Rutsi had already testified for approximately one hour.
"12 minutes, nobody noticed"
In his testimony, Panos Rutsi described the anguish caused by the fact that two trains were moving on the same line for 12 minutes without anyone noticing it. "12 minutes, two trains moving on the same line and nobody realised that in 12 minutes there would be no one left. Whether we wanted to or not, we became investigators ourselves," he stated.
Referring to the failure of safety systems, Mr Rutsi said: "If there had been a signal, the children would have lived." He described the wound as still open and emphasised that he will not stop seeking the truth: "I will not stop until I know how my child died."
The father of Dennis Rutsi also expressed reservations about the progress of the judicial process. "I respect and trust justice, but what I have seen so far, I do not think that some are functioning as they should, and that makes me very sad when there are so many dead," he testified. Addressing the court president, he added: "Madam President, at some point, wherever the responsibility lies, people must be held accountable. We cannot live through this suffering we have endured for almost four years."
The hunger strike at Syntagma
Mr Rutsi also referred to the hunger strike that began in September 2025 at Syntagma, immediately after the completion of the investigation by special examining magistrate Sotiris Bakaimis in August. "What I could not bear was when Mr Bakaimis decided to close the file. I decided, without telling anyone, to go on a hunger strike. I chose that location because I believe it is very sacred," he stated, adding: "The people gave me the strength to endure."
Mr Rutsi also testified regarding requests for the exhumation of his son's body and the carrying out of special examinations. He stated that although initially these requests were accepted after two or three days—a fact which he regarded as vindication—he subsequently realised that "all this acceptance of the requests was just another mockery." "I do not know if my child is in there. And if only my child is in there. All the truth is hidden there," he concluded.
Rejection of request for deadline on expert examination
At the end of Wednesday's session, before the interruption due to the witness's illness, the court president announced that a request from a lawyer supporting the prosecution was rejected. The lawyer had requested completion of the ruling regarding the confiscated mobile phone of the accused night-shift station manager.
By the initial court ruling, the lifting of confidentiality and the carrying out of laboratory expert examination by the Criminal Investigation Directorate of the Hellenic Police on the station manager's device had been ordered. The investigation covers incoming and outgoing calls, SMS, MMS and applications such as Viber, with explicit instructions for recovery of any deleted files.
The lawyer requested that a specific timetable be set for delivery of the expert examination. The prosecutor proposed rejection, noting that the initial ruling already stipulates delivery "as soon as possible." The court accepted the prosecutor's proposal and rejected the request.
Source: Ethnos