Albanian appeals court to decide on MEP Beleri on June 25
A special appeals court in Albania has announced that it will made a final decision on June 25 in the case of jailed ethnic Greek politician Fredi Beleri, who was elected to the European Parliament as a candidate in Greece for the ruling New Democracy party.
Beleri is appealing a conviction on charges of vote-buying in a local mayoral election a year before.
He denies the charges on the grounds that they are bogus and politically motivated.
“The only fair decision would be my acquittal,” the newly elected MEP told private broadcaster SKAI ahead of Friday’s appeal hearing. “No country in Europe would stand for such an indictment.”
He also announced that he plans to take an appeal to the European Court of Justice as he is under no illusions about what will happen at the Albanian court of appeal.
“I know that the judicial system in Albania is controlled by Edi Rama,” he said, referring to the country’s prime minister.
Rama has said the Beleri case was a judicial, not political, matter.
Beleri was arrested in May 2023 during a mayoral election campaign in his hometown of Himare, on the scenic Albanian Riviera, which has an active ethnic Greek community. He subsequently won, but was never sworn in while being held in pre-trial detention. He was jailed in March this year for election fraud. [Kathimerini/Reuters]
