Athens: Tempi hunger strike pays off
Panos Routsis, the father of a 22-year-old victim of the Tempi train crash in February 2023, ended his 23-day hunger strike outside the Greek Parliament on Tuesday after the Prosecutor's Office ordered new DNA and toxicological tests to confirm his son's identity and the exact cause of death. The investigation into the tragedy in which 57 people died remains a highly emotional issue in Greece.
David has defeated Goliath
The prosecutor's about-face is a signal that justice can also be enforced against the powerful, stresses TVXS:
“He only ended his hunger strike once he had the official order from the public prosecutor's office in his hands. ... With courage and determination, Panos Routsis succeeded in bringing the government and the pro-government media which had mocked and attacked him, to their knees. An ordinary citizen stood up to the powerful. David defeated Goliath. Panos Routsis has shown us that we can assert our rights if we fight for them.”
A Kafkaesque system
Although the hunger strike was ultimately a success, it should never have been necessary, Efimerida ton Syntakton comments:
“The end of Panos Routsis' struggle is widely recognised as one of the few joyful moments in an endless memorial service or nightmare, accompanied by mockery from the state, which the relatives of the victims of the Tempi train crash have been experiencing since 28 February 2023. The questions about the functioning of the justice system and institutions are very serious and remain unanswered: why did a father have to go on hunger strike for 23 days to push through the exhumation and examination of his child's remains? Of course, even this small victory against a Kafkaesque system can in no way compensate for the violent loss of a young person with dreams like Dennis.”