According to the statements of the parents of 23-year-old student Kyprianos Papaioannou from Avgorou, who “perished” on the night of February 28, 2023, in the wreckage of the trains that collided at Tempi along with 56 other victims, the trial continued at the Three-Member Court of Appeals for Felonies in Larissa.
At the 40th session, during which Pavlos Kouzis and Spyridon Pateras were present among the defendants, testimony was given by Father Christodoulos Papaioannou and Elder Georgia, the parents of the unfortunate Kyprianos.
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
Kyprianos’s father appeared in court holding a photograph of his son. He described the final moments before he was informed of the accident, the search for his son, and the circumstances under which he received his son’s remains, while calling for a full investigation into the causes of the fire and the explosion that followed the collision.
“Instead of dressing him as a groom, I dressed him as a corpse”
The 23-year-old’s mother described her son’s dreams and his love for Greece in court.
“I am the mother of the Cypriot victim from the train accident. He used to tell me about his dreams. His teachers told me how special he was. He often spoke to me about Greece and its struggles. Who could have told me that Greece would take him from me in such a tragic way,” she said.
He then described the dramatic hours that followed the collision, as the family tried in vain to reach Kyprianos.
“Enough of this dark day. Shock and turmoil reign in my home. His phone wasn’t answering. I was praying he’d be among the injured. When they told me he wasn’t on the last bus with the injured, I froze,” she testified.
Her account of the moment she received her son’s remains was particularly harrowing. “They told me he was burned. ‘You’ll receive the coffin closed,’ they told me. He had burns, but he was recognizable. They brought him to me in a zippered nylon bag, naked. No respect at all. Instead of dressing him as a groom, I dressed him as a corpse. He smelled strange. It was as if I could hear my son’s voice crying out, ‘Mom, Mom.’”
Kyprianou’s mother demanded that those responsible be held accountable and that answers be provided regarding the handling of the accident scene. “I want to know why the accident scene was tampered with. Why did they rush to clear away the victims’ remains with bulldozers? I hope that all those responsible will take responsibility and that there will be a fair trial,” he said, adding that he continues to believe in the justice system.
*Source: protothema.gr
