Panos Ruci, father of Denis Ruci, a 22-year-old killed in Greece’s deadliest rail disaster of 2023, has launched a hunger strike outside parliament to demand a full forensic investigation, including the exhumation of his son’s body. He began the protest on September 15, citing prosecutors’ refusal to authorize the exhumation. “For two and a half years I have been unable to obtain justice… I demand authorization for the exhumation,” Ruci told AFP.
The February 2023 collision between a passenger and a freight train near Tempe, central Greece, claimed 57 lives, mostly students. Both trains were allowed to run on the same track for 12 minutes, triggering national outrage, protests, and strikes over perceived investigative failures.
More than 40 people, including the station master responsible for train routing, have faced prosecution. Two senior officials, including the former transport minister, have been referred to judges, though both deny wrongdoing and are likely to face only misdemeanour charges.
Victims’ families remain frustrated, arguing that critical evidence may have been destroyed when the crash site was bulldozed shortly after the accident. They are calling for further toxicology tests to determine whether undeclared chemicals on the trains contributed to post-crash explosions.
Public opinion polls indicate widespread belief that authorities attempted to cover up key details of the crash. The official investigation was closed at the end of August, but the trial is not expected to begin until next year.
Ruci has vowed to continue his protest day and night until authorities grant access to his son’s remains for additional testing. The hunger strike highlights ongoing tensions between victims’ families and the Greek government over accountability and transparency in the rail tragedy.
