Beleri oath request ruling next week
The decision on the request by incarcerated ethnic Greek Fredi Beleri to be sworn as mayor of Himare in southern Albania will be made by the neighboring country’s Special Court on December 4, “after six months of procrastination,” he told Skai Radio in an interview on Tuesday.
Beleri said that he is a victim of a witch hunt by the Albanian government, while he denounced the fact that the rule of law in Albania is not functioning.
“The opposition cannot exercise its duties in parliament, there is a witch hunt on the part of the [Albanian] government, anyone who is not liked by [Prime Minister Edi] Rama is persecuted at any time. There is no equality,” he stressed.
Beleri was arrested in May on voting fraud charges just before the municipal election in Himare, which he won.
“The law is clear. When someone has not been convicted and the verdict is not final, he can be sworn in. For the same offense I am in custody, while two other mayors are in office at the moment when there are videos and testimonies in the other two cases,” Beleri said.
Meanwhile, Greece’s stance regarding Albania’s EU aspirations is expected to be highlighted at the Committee of Permanent Representatives (COREPER) on Wednesday, which will discuss the issue of the pending letter to be sent to Tirana as a first step to start negotiations on five fundamental chapters.
Greece has said it will block Albania’s EU course as long as the issue of Beleri is not resolved to the chagrin of Berlin and the Spanish presidency in particular, while Washington has a similar take as it wants the fastest possible accession of all NATO member-states in the Western Balkans to the EU.
Athens has pushed back against accusations it is treating the Beleri case as a bilateral dispute with Albania, insisting it is solely a matter of European order, a view that has been repeatedly stressed by State Minister Stavros Papastavrou.
