Ethnic Greek mayor-elect of Himara Fredi Beleri was sentenced to two years in jail by a court in Tirana on Tuesday. The conviction triggered the angry reaction of the Greek Foreign Ministry.
“It was a parody trial,” Beleri told media after the court announced its decision.
Beleri has been remanded in custody since the eve of local elections May 2023 over charges of voter bribery, while several appeals to be released have been rejected by Albanian courts.
Greece has protested his detention in Albania and internationally, while Beleri has said the charges are false.
The same court sentenced his co-defendant Pantelis Kokavesi to an 18-month suspended jail sentence.
Greek Foreign Ministry statement
Today’s conviction by an Albanian court against the elected mayor of Heimarra Fredy Beleris heightens the concerns raised about the objectivity of the process.
And this is due to the shaking of the presumption of innocence due to external statements and actions that advocated conviction and given that the final sentence is obviously disproportionate in relation to the extent of the alleged offense. And the measurement of the penalty, so that he is not released from prison, prevents the elected mayor from assuming his duties, even today, and keeps the defeated candidate in the mayoralty, despite the express court decision months ago that imposed his immediate removal.
The selective application of judicial decisions and the discounting of judicial judgments are not consistent with the principles of the rule of law.
The Greek government will closely monitor the case and look forward to a fair and objective judgment in the second instance of jurisdiction.
