ATHENS: The main spokesperson for the victims of Greece’s worst rail tragedy has announced plans for a new political party to combat “corruption and clientelism,” with polls already predicting a strong start.
“The citizens’ movement against corruption and clientelism is being organized and will soon be ready to seek society’s vote,” Maria Karystianou, who lost her daughter in the 2023 disaster, told reporters late Friday.
Opinion polls have shown that a ‘Karystianou party’ could grab between 10 and 30 percent of the vote.
The February 2023 rail disaster in Tempi, central Greece killed 57 people, most of them young students on a passenger train that collided with a freight train in the middle of the night.
The government of conservative Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis swiftly came under fire after blaming a local station master for the accident.
The victims’ families also said valuable evidence was lost when the crash site was bulldozed soon after the accident, leading to claims of an attempted cover-up.
Nearly 40 people will go on trial in March, including railway executives and the station master responsible for directing the trains that night.
They face prison sentences of up to 20 years.
In a statement to AFP in February 2025, Karystianou said, “I am determined to take this to the end,” adding that she has “no faith” in Greek justice and would submit her case to the European Court of Human Rights.
On Friday, the 53-year-old head of the Tempi Victims’ Relatives Association declined to give a timetable for the party’s launch or name.
“When I have something complete — which means I will have a program and people — we will come out and speak,” Karystianou said.
Two former prime ministers — leftist Alexis Tsipras and conservative Antonis Samaras — are also rumored to be preparing parties of their own.
Mother of Greek train tragedy victim says will form new party
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Mother of Greek train tragedy victim says will form new party
- Opinion polls have shown that a ‘Karystianou party’ could grab between 10 and 30 percent of the vote
- The 53-year-old head of the Tempi Victims’ Relatives Association declined to give a timetable for the party’s launch or name
Three more UK pro-Palestinian activists end hunger strike
- The detainees are due to stand trial for alleged break-ins or criminal damage on behalf of the Palestine Action campaign group before it was banned under anti-terrorism laws
LONDON: Three detained pro-Palestinian activists awaiting trial in the UK have ended their hunger strike after 73 days, a campaign group said.
The three began “refeeding” on Wednesday, Prisoners for Palestine said in a statement late on Wednesday.
The decision leaves just one person still on hunger strike who started six days ago, it confirmed to AFP. Four others called off their hunger strike earlier.
The detainees are due to stand trial for alleged break-ins or criminal damage on behalf of the Palestine Action campaign group before it was banned under anti-terrorism laws.
They deny the charges.
The group, aged 20-31, launched their hunger strike in November in protest at their treatment and called for their release from prison on bail as they await trial.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer previously said in parliament that all “rules and procedures” were being followed in their cases.
His government outlawed Palestine Action in July after activists, protesting the war in Gaza, broke into a UK air force base and caused an estimated £7 million ($9.3 million) of damage.
Some of those on hunger strike are charged in relation to that incident.
The inmates’ demands included that the government lift its Palestine Action ban and close an Israel-linked defense firm.
Palestine Action co-founder Huda Ammori challenged the ban last July, and High Court judges are expected to rule at a later date on whether to uphold the prohibition.
