The trial at the Larissa Court of Appeals’ Criminal Division for the Tempi railway disaster, which left 57 dead, will, for now, continue in the specially arranged courtroom at the Geopolis complex of the University of Thessaly, regardless of the chaos that occurred on the first day of proceedings.

However, the lawyers participating in the trial—some from the very beginning—expressed their intention to find a different courtroom for the trial.

According to sources from the Ministry of Justice, the overcrowding seen in the Larissa Court of Appeals’ courtroom was due to poor seating arrangements, as there was no prior notification to entrants about where they should sit inside the courtroom.

“It’s not a space issue, it’s a seating issue”
As protothema.gr reported, “the courtroom itself is not the problem; the problem is the seating arrangement and how the entrants were seated.” Relatives of the victims, lacking proper guidance, sat in areas designated for lawyers.

The same sources emphasized that there is no issue with the courtroom’s capacity, especially since the number of relatives, witnesses, etc., is expected to decrease in future sessions. This contrasts with the first day, when public attention was focused on the Larissa Court of Appeals, leading to high attendance.

By the second session on April 1, 2026, the few technical issues that arose on the first day are expected to be resolved, and proper seating arrangements for lawyers, witnesses, relatives, and others will be ensured.

The University of Thessaly courtroom where the trial began has a capacity of 450 seats, according to Ministry of Justice sources, making it the largest courtroom in the country. The second-largest is the multipurpose courtroom at the Athens Court of Appeals, with 400 seats.

Moreover, the Thessaly courtroom has the potential to increase seating by approximately 20, raising total capacity to around 470.

The lawyers’ perspective
Lawyers, however, remain skeptical that the trial can proceed under humane conditions in this courtroom and foresee potential deadlock. They argue that the room is too small for a trial of this magnitude.

Some have suggested proposing to the plenary of the Presidents of the Bar Associations of Greece that lawyers abstain from this trial.

The coordinating committee of the plenary has already issued a statement calling on the authorities “to immediately take all necessary measures to ensure the smooth progress of the trial.”

“Today’s situation offends us all”
In its statement, the coordinating committee noted: “Unfortunately, at the start of today’s proceedings, we observed that the chosen courtroom does not meet the minimum requirements for the safe conduct of the trial and the dignified exercise of the rights of the parties, and therefore does not fulfill the conditions for a fair trial.” The statement added: “Today’s situation offends us all.”

Following the adjournment of the trial, the President of the Plenary of Bar Association Presidents and President of the Athens Bar Association, Andreas Koutsolambros, along with members of the coordinating committee, visited the head of the Larissa Court of Appeals to outline the problems faced by all participants in the trial.