Train Tragedy Twist, Royal Ties, Free Speech
Dear Member,
This is our weekly round-up from Greece. And this year’s last weekly roundup as we step into 2025. We can’t thank you enough for your support and trust.
So let’s do this for the last time in 2024!👇
A significant reversal in the investigation of the Tempi railway tragedy has emerged as the National Technical University of Athens refuted technical studies by state-appointed experts attributing the explosion to transformer oils from the trains. The findings instead unequivocally point to the suspicious cargo of the freight train.
The government granted citizenship to the applying members of Greece’s former royal family. The ex-royals expressed “deep emotion” for this development. They have been deprived of their citizenship some 30 years earlier, though. What made them apply now?
A video by university professor Kosmas Marinakis explaining "The Triangle of Corruption" in Greece was removed from YouTube following legal actions taken by Greek TV channel SKAI and journalist Portosalte, who seemingly took offense to the content. The professor also reported an incident of intimidation targeting a member of his family by unknown individuals.
When a state university officially refutes governmental claims as to the Tempi train accident
A significant reversal in the investigation of the Tempi railway tragedy has emerged. The National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) refutes technical studies by state-appointed experts, previously endorsed by government and official bodies, which attributed the explosion to train transformer oils. The findings instead unequivocally point to the suspicious cargo of the freight train. This raises fresh questions about why visual evidence of the loading process was concealed.
This is what the news website in.gr (Opens in a new window) reported (Opens in a new window) on 20 December - and we have not seen any reports for this critical development in English.
When the passenger train collided with the commercial train at Tempi on 28 February 2023, resulting in the death of at least 57 people, there was a big explosion. Immediately, the first theories emerged that it was due to a mysterious load from the commercial train. We then thought this was just a conspiracy theory. However, the Independent Expert Committee (EDAPO) representing victims’ families had previously suggested similar findings, pointing to illegal cargo as the cause. They proved that at least 6-8 passengers had burned alive.
The EDAPO’s findings are now verified by the NTUA's report, commissioned by judicial authorities to investigate the causes of this deadly explosion.
According to the report, authored by Professor Dimitris Karonis from the NTUA School of Chemical Engineering, who specializes in Fuel and Lubricant Technology, the explosion was not caused by the silicone oils transported by the passenger train's transformers. Prof. Karonis thoroughly examined all parameters, rejecting the previous hypothesis.
This dismissal, as per legal experts and investigators, shifts the focus toward the possibility of illegal and hazardous cargo carried by the freight train as the source of the deadly "fireball" observed during the collision, in.gr (Opens in a new window) report concluded.
To this day, we don’t know what the freight train was carrying. That’s enough to suspect that the freight is connected with illegal trade.
This revelation intensifies scrutiny on the Hellenic Railways Organization (OSE) for misleading judicial authorities and withholding visual evidence from surveillance cameras showing the loading process at Thessaloniki's freight station.
Initially, two government-appointed experts attributed the explosion to transformer oils, a theory endorsed by top OSE and Hellenic Train officials. These claims were presented in parliamentary discussions and reports to investigators, dismissing any "conspiracy theories" about suspicious cargo, in.gr (Opens in a new window) recalled.
The conclusion of the NTUA laboratory that silicone oils were not involved in the explosion “underlines the urgent need for answers regarding the freight train's cargo and the deliberate concealment of critical evidence,” the report concluded.
"Let them come forward and explain what caused the explosion. They owe us an explanation," stated (Opens in a new window) Nikos Plakias, who lost two daughters and a niece in the accident.
No government or train company official made statements about the NTUA report.
At the same time, in Serres, “Tempi” (ex) Transportation Minister Karamanlis’s electoral prefecture, locals were glorifying him and taking selfies with him during public festivities.
After all, every country has the politicians it deserves.
Why did they bother now?
In a decision published in the government gazette on 20 December, citizenship was granted to the ten former royal family members. These are the five children of the late former king Constantine II and former queen Anne-Marie and five of their grandchildren, AP reported (Opens in a new window).
“It is with deep emotion that, after 30 years, we hold the Greek citizenship again. The law of 1994 deprived us of our citizenship, rendering us stateless with all that this entails regarding individual rights and great emotional distress,” the former royal family said in Greek and English.
The previous week, we analyzed the case of the former royals' application for citizenship and the annoyance widely caused in Greece as they chose the surname “De Grece” from the French for “of Greece.”
There is one more thing to consider, though. Why did the former royals apply for citizenship after three long decades of deprivation?
We cannot know. But we certainly have a hint.
The restoration of the former royal estate in Tatoi, once the residence of Greece’s former royal family, is progressing rapidly and is expected to reopen to the public in 2025, according (Opens in a new window) to reports.
Starting in late 1948, the royal family established a permanent residence in the 2,000-hectare estate, remaining there until the morning of December 13, 1967. 2003, the estate and its associated properties were transferred to public ownership. In early August 2021, a significant wildfire devastated much of the estate's forest. The fire also destroyed several buildings.
“A massive €60 million project at the former royal estate, which includes various buildings with multiple uses such as a museum, a conference center, a children's creative activity area, and a digital visitor information center, is expected to be completed within a year,” Proto Thema reported (Opens in a new window) in June. A part of it is expected to open as early as September 2025.
On Christmas Eve, four days after the Mitsotakis government reinstated the ex-royals’ Greek citizenship, Culture Minister Mendoni met with Agriculture Minister Tsiaras to discuss the utilization of approximately 600 hectares of agricultural land from the Tatoi estate.
“It’s evident that Pavlos Glücksburg must acquire an official surname from the Greek state, as how else could he be appointed to the ‘Tatoi Management Agency,’ as they have planned? Without identification? That’s impossible. So, let’s not split hairs [regarding the surname] when the metaphorical camel stands tall and proud right before us,” Greek Archaeologists' Association vice president and leftist Antarsia party founding member Despina Koutsoumpa wrote (Opens in a new window) on Facebook.
Referencing the ND government’s close ties with the former royal family, Avgi wrote, “There are business issues here as well as huge interests with the utilization of the estate… In this sense, issues we cannot even come to imagine may lie behind granting Pavlos’ citizenship.”
We have no evidence to support the claims, as mentioned earlier. We’ll keep these comments in mind while following the Tatoi business developments.
University professor reports even threats for his family after video
A video by university professor Kosmas Marinakis entitled "The Triangle of Corruption" was removed from YouTube following legal actions by a Greek TV channel and a journalist, who seemingly took offense to the content. Additionally, an incident of intimidation targeting a member of Marinakis' family by unknown individuals was reported.
The incident happened this week and was reported (Opens in a new window) online by Marinakis, an associate professor of Economic Policy at a Singapore university, who manages the popular Greekonomics channel (Opens in a new window) with nearly 266,000 subscribers, offering accessible analysis of economic impacts on society.
Marinakis' video focused on allegations of a triangular corruption mechanism of interdependence in Greece between the government, mainstream media, and the banking system. According to Marinakis, the government settles obligations to the press not through direct funding but through facilitation provided by banks. These facilitative actions include allowing banks to establish cartel-like practices in the market, with the cost of this process being passed on to citizens.
In this video, the professor pointed to specific practices. He described how debts are repaid indirectly through benefits and accommodations, creating a cycle of favor exchanges that ultimately burden ordinary citizens. Using examples, Marinakis referenced a TV channel and a government-affiliated journalist changing their names.
The video attracted legal action from Skai TV and journalist Aris Portosalte, which led to its removal from YouTube. Initially, the professor did not name the perpetrators of legal action, but he publicly clarified (Opens in a new window) who they were as people hinted on various channels and journalists.
Most importantly, Marinakis reported (Opens in a new window) threats against one of his family members in Greece by unknown people, an alarming escalation given his remote residence in Singapore.
"Honestly, I can't fathom how having an online channel in Greece has escalated to the point where my family, my work, and I are being threatened and dragged into court," Marinakis stated. "I am no politician, I am no journalist, I am not a television network, I do not have the support or the means to engage in legal battles or pay for personal security. Through a YouTube channel, I am a university professor who tries to make the audience who follows me learn to think independently, to judge for themselves, and to understand how the economy impacts their lives."
The video is no longer on YouTube, yet it remains accessible on alternative platforms like the Pirate Party of Greece (here (Opens in a new window)), which also reported legal threats by a lawyer. Political parties, including Volt and SYRIZA, have condemned the events, underscoring issues of press freedom and democratic integrity.
As expected, the incident has amplified the video's reach, which by Friday was counting some 372,000 views on Pthe irate Party platform.
Portosalte admitted (Opens in a new window) in his radio show that he is the one who undertook legal action against the professor, claiming that the latter set out to explain corruption "by insulting with vulgar lies the media in which the speaker works, and the speaker himself.” He added, "when we told him that we would pursue legal means, we saw him retract what he had written. If he were telling the truth, as he claims, he could have come to court to prove his allegations. Upon the warning, the individual removed the video."
Health Minister Georgiadis, on a long X post defended (Opens in a new window) Portosalte in his row with Professor Marinakis.
At the same time, trolls at X embarked on a crusade to harm Marinakis’s prestige by using all kinds of ‘arguments.’
For the record, Kosmas Marinakis is no leftist. From what we have understood by watching some of his videos, he is a liberal - an authentic one, not like most Greek right-wingers, who proclaim themselves as liberals. Yet, they constantly eye state money through direct contracts with friendly governments.
If anything, the raw over Professor Marinakis’ video indicates that the professor probably has it right.
Read
Photojournalist, director, member of the independent media outlet "The Untold," and activist in the political collective Rouvikonas, Maria Galati, recounts to Ef.Syn (Opens in a new window). her provocative, undemocratic, and humiliating treatment by the Hellenic Police (EL.AS (Opens in a new window).). She describes what she calls her "abduction" by State Security officers, the unlawful seizure of her phone—which contains unpublished journalistic material from long-term investigations—and an illegal body search during which she was forced, in a sadistic manner, to remove her clothing (In Greek)
Kalanda: The Greek carols (Opens in a new window)
Greece facing refugee ‘children’s emergency’ as arrivals double in 2024 (Opens in a new window)
Severe weather expected across Greece this weekend (Opens in a new window)
Frozen roads, heated debate about EVs (Opens in a new window)
Sewage, scandals, and storms – the saga of Poseidonos Avenue (Opens in a new window)
Bartholomew, Erdogan discuss Christian issues (Opens in a new window)
Odontotos cog railway services suspended due to landslides (Opens in a new window)
Greek Brothers Spy Blooming Opportunity in Balkan Love of ‘Christmas Flower’ (Opens in a new window)
Monitoring the fiery depths off Santorini (Opens in a new window)
Have a great festive season with your loved ones!
That’s all for this week; please forward this email to anyone you think might find it interesting and ask them to join our international community!
The AL team
