Beleri accuses Albanian PM of manipulating justice
Fredi Beleri, an ethnic Greek mayor-elect in southern Albania recently sentenced to two years in prison for vote-buying, and a candidate for the upcoming European Parliament elections with Greece’s ruling New Democracy party, has accused Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama of manipulating justice to prevent him from assuming his duties and to undermine his candidacy.
“My goal was to assume my duties as the mayor of Himare. Given that the Albanian regime and Mr Rama control the judiciary and almost all powers in Albania, they did not allow me to take on the responsibilities assigned to me by the people of Himare, [effectively] staging a coup,” Beleri said in an interview with Alpha TV late Tuesday.
He said that since taking over as prime minister in 2013, Rama had been “distinguishing us Greeks living and operating in Albania into good and bad, into subordinates and enemies.”
“At no point did I consider compromising with the Albanian regime or accepting a discount on what I believe in. Our struggle is just and we will win in the end,” he said.
In the same interview, Beleri described his candidacy with New Democracy for the European Parliament as a “great obligation” and a “great honor” bestowed upon him by the Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
“It gives me strength and courage to continue my struggle to defend the rights of the people of Himare and the entire Greek community in Albania,” he said.
In a decision seen as aimed at undermining Beleri’s candidacy, the Albanian judiciary on Tuesday transferred the first hearing of his appeal to the Court of Appeal to June 7. As the proceedings will not be exhausted in one sitting, it is clear that the appeal will be decided after the European elections on June 9.
