Greek MEP decries ‘baseless’ incarceration of Himare mayor-elect
The conviction by the Albanian authorities of Himare mayor-elect Fredi Beleri is “flimsy and baseless,” the chairman of the EU-Albania Joint Parliamentary Stabilization and Association Committee and New Democracy MEP Manolis Kefalogiannis reiterated on Monday after visiting the jailed ethnic-Greek politician.
“Fredi Beleri continues his proud fight for the Greek-ethnic minority, for Himare’s residents. He has been a prisoner for a year now, on a flimsy and baseless charge, an unfair decision keeping him in jail illegally,” he said.
Kefalogiannis also repeated warnings that the incarceration of Beleri – a fellow candidate who will be running for a seat in European Parliament next month on the New Democracy ticket – reflects unfavorably on Albania’s bid for European Union membership.
“Albania’s accession course depends on respect for the fundamental rights of the Greek-ethnic minority, on resolving the property issue in ‘northern Epirus,’ on respect for good neighborly relations, on the immediate release of Fredi Beleri and on his swearing-in as Himare mayor,” he said, referring to a part of Albania with a sizeable ethnic-Greek population.
Kefalogiannis’ comments came in a statement following what was his fourth visit to the prison in the central Albanian city of Fier where Beleri is being held after being found guilty earlier this year of vote-buying in the May 2023 local elections, in a trial Athens has decried as being politically motivated.
