Albanian rule of law questioned over Beleri conviction

Following the Tuesday conviction of ethnic Greek mayor Fredi Beleri in Albania over alleged vote-buying, sources from within the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday expressed their concern over the rule of law in Albania and the objectivity of its justice system.

The Albanian court ignored evidence which weakened the prosecution’s case, and that defendant’s presumption of innocence was jeopardized, the diplomatic sources said.

The two year sentence is “obviously disproportionate” to the crime and holds the elected mayor of Himare “hostage” while his defeated opponent remains in power, in spite of an earlier judicial decision prohibiting such an action, the same sources said.

Beleri himself described the judicial proceeding as a “sham trial … a fake criminal record, no evidence, no other witnesses except one who was bribed by the police, with an ‘appointed’ judge, in a glass cage without communication with my lawyer, the Albanian court sentenced me today to two years in prison.”

The ethnic Greek was elected mayor of Himare, 240 kilometers (150 miles) south of the capital, Tirana. He was arrested days before the vote while allegedly offering 40,000 Albanian leks (€385 or $390 at the time) to buy eight votes. Beleri won the election but could not be sworn in while under arrest.

The Special Court on Corruption and Organized Crime also handed Pantelis Kokavesis, Beleri’s aide, an 18-month suspended sentence.