Protesters in over 100 cities in Greece and abroad demand justice for 2023 rail crash victims

ATHENS, Greece — Tens of thousands of Greeks took to the streets in 110 cities Sunday, including 13 locations abroad, to demand justice for the 57 victims of the country's deadliest rail disaster in 2023.

The largest marches, with about 30,000 taking part in each, took place in Greece's two largest cities, Athens and Thessaloniki. They were mostly peaceful, although in each city, small groups of people attacked police forces with rocks and flares. Police responded with tear gas and flash-bang grenades. The clashes only lasted a few minutes.

In London, about 500 people demonstrated outside the Greek Embassy in the Holland Park neighborhood. More protests were staged in Amsterdam, Berlin, Brussels, Cologne, Helsinki, London, Nicosia, Reykjavik and Valetta, Malta.

The protesters, called to demonstrate by victims' relatives, held placards and chanted ''I have no oxygen,'' a phrase reportedly uttered by a victim, still alive, who called the 112 European emergency number to report the incident. Another placard, seen in Thessaloniki, accused the state, the conservative government and the European Commission of having blood on their hands.

''What is happening today is majestic,'' Pavlos Aslanidis, the father of a victim, told media in Thessaloniki. ''This is now a global fight,'' he added, referring to the protests abroad. ''Μy son's soul must be elated ... I believe we will win. We have the state ranged against us, but we will win.''

The marchers accused the government of hiding significant evidence, running an opaque investigation and trying to blame the disaster on a stationmaster's bad decisions.

The disaster happened on the night of Feb. 28, 2023 when a north-bound passenger train collided with a southbound freight train, which had been placed mistakenly on the same track.

A combination of anger, anguish over the deaths of mostly young people and a desire to make political capital out of the tragedy has given play to a series of rumors about the accident.

Many believe that at least 30 of the 57 victims survived the initial impact only to die in a fire started not by the high-speed crash but, allegedly, by dangerous chemicals transported by the freight train. Some have accused the government of trying to hide that chemicals were on board.

A lengthy investigation and delays by technical experts in producing reports about what caused the fire after the crash have pushed back a trial date. Greek media have reported that it is possible a trial could begin in the spring if there are no further delays. Some victims' relatives are also accusing a small group among them of further delaying the procedure by calling more witnesses among the survivors. It is estimated that about 50-60 rail and other officials will be put on trial.

''This has been the most mafia-like cover-up operation,'' Maria Karystianou, whose daughter died in the crash, told the Athens protesters marching outside the Parliament building Sunday. Karystianou has taken on a high-profile role, organizing events, petitioning the European Parliament and opining on Greek politics in media appearances.

Opposition political parties had hoped the crash, which led the then-transport minister to resign, would hurt the government. But while it exposed a lack of safety equipment in the rail system it had no effect on the two elections held in May and June 2023, in which the ruling conservatives expanded their majority. The opposition tried again last year to put pressure on the government with a no-confidence motion which it easily survived.

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Kantouris reported from Thessaloniki.