Tempe Special Court: 21 judges and prosecutors to try Triantopoulis
The 21 members of the Special Court that will try former deputy minister Christos Triantopoulis over the "cover-up" case at Tempe have been drawn by lot.
The figures who will try Triantopoulis at the Special Court
Twenty-one judicial officials, five defendants, and a courtroom expected to be filled with bereaved relatives, victims and lawyers — this is the scene of the Special Court that will hear the case of former deputy minister Christos Triantopoulis. According to kathimerini.gr, the trial for the so-called "cover-up" at Tempe is scheduled to conclude by mid-January 2027.
For the first time in the history of the institution, the proceedings will not take place on the first floor of the Court of Cassation, but in the multipurpose hall of the Court of Appeal — the only space deemed suitable to accommodate 21 judges and prosecutors, following renovation works.
The president and the prosecutor
Areiopagite Georgios Papageorgiu was appointed as president, being the most senior on the seniority list. The 65-year-old judge joined the judiciary in 1991, served as president of the Court of Appeal in Piraeus, and was promoted to Areiopagite in 2022. In March 2025 he resigned from his position as president of the Arbitration Court, citing in a letter attempts to influence judicial decisions through threatening letters. In 2021 he had resigned as a member of the Union of Judges and Prosecutors, together with former prosecutor of the Court of Cassation Isidoros Ntogyakos, following the Union's position on the hunger strike of Dimitris Koufodinas.
At the prosecutorial bench will sit deputy prosecutor of the Court of Cassation Anna Kaloutas, former head of the Prosecutorial Office of the Court of Appeal in Euboea, who was promoted to this rank in 2022. In her judicial career she has dealt with, among other cases, the murder case of businessman Vasilis Houpis, who was found dead in his car in Ritsonas in June 2010, as well as a part of the investigation into alleged violations of stock exchange legislation during the stock market frenzy of 1999.
The Areiopagites on the bench
Among the 13 regular judges drawn is 62-year-old Areiopagite Apostolos Fotopoulos, who was promoted to the position in 2023. In February 2024 he was among 13 Areiopagites who, according to the Administrative Plenary of the Court of Cassation, refused to condemn a European Parliament resolution on the rule of law, on the grounds that the matter is political in nature.
Also drawn was Styliani Bleta, born in Piraeus in 1964, a graduate of the Athens School of Law in 1987, who joined the judiciary in 1995 and served in Athens, Thebes, Chania and Nafplio. She participates in the Circle of Greek Writer Judges.
Alkestis Siannou, born in Athens in 1960 and a member of the judiciary since 1995, was promoted to Areiopagite two years ago, having served in Athens, Tripoli and Piraeus, as well as in the SIRENE department of the Ministry of Public Order and in the National School of Judicial Officials.
The group of Areiopagites is completed by Maria Giannakopoulou — who also participates in the judicial council of article 86 investigating former minister Kostas Ach. Karamanlis over a part of the Tempe case —, Panagiotis Boltetsios and Maria Archontaki-Traulou-Tzanetatos. As alternate members from the Court of Cassation were drawn Iphigenia Matsouka, Maria Petsali and Erasmia Liouli.
Six State Counsel advisors on the bench
Six judges of the State Council (CoE) will also participate on the bench. Among them Evstathia Skoura, member of the B Division, who has participated as rapporteur in significant decisions — including 148/2024 on the constitutionality of the professional tax.
From the same division comes Konstantia Lazaraki, rapporteur in the case on the constitutionality of university police and in decision 330/2018, by which it was found that there is no ground of public interest that justifies the mandatory submission of a joint tax return by spouses.
Anastasia-Maria Papadimitriou was drawn as a regular member, rapporteur in State Council decision 392/2026, by which the legislative framework for the marriage of same-sex couples was found to be constitutional by a majority.
Also drawn were Dimitrios Tomaras, with specialisation in administrative law and public contracts, Dimitrios Emmanulidis, former director general of the National School of Judicial Officials, and Aikaterini Roxana, member of the A Division dealing with, among other matters, social security issues. Alternate members from the State Council are Marina-Alexandra Tsakali, Ilias Mazos, senior vice-president of the court, and Ioannis Papagiannis.
Next steps
Immediately after the drawing protocol is received by the President of Parliament, President Papageorgiu is required within 40 to 60 days to set the trial date and draw up the list of witnesses to be examined.
Source: Google News GR — Crime (el)