Beleri appeal rejected; elected MEP to remain behind bars

A court of appeals in Tirana on Tuesday rejected an appeal by Fredi Beleri, the mayor-elect of the ethnic Greek city of Himare and an elected MEP for Greece, who ran as a New Democracy candidate in this month’s European Parliament election.

Under the court’s ruling, Beleri will have to stay in prison until October, following his conviction earlier this year for buying votes in last May’s local elections in Albania, charges he – and Athens – believe are politically motivated and entirely spurious. 

In recent comments to the media, Beleri had said that he was not optimistic of an early release, as he believes he is being deliberately targeted by the Albanian prime minister.

“I know that the Albanian judicial system is controlled by Edi Rama,” Beleri has said in comments in the past.

The Beleri affair has caused a considerable strain in relations between neighbors Greece and Albania.