Beleri granted early release after 16 months in Albanian prison
After 16 months in an Albanian prison, Fredi Beleri has been granted early release. His request, which had been postponed three times, was approved on Monday.
Beleri, a member of Albania’s ethnic Greek minority and a newly elected European Parliament member with Greece’s ruling New Democracy party, sought early release on the grounds that he had served more than two-thirds of his sentence and demonstrated good behavior during his incarceration.
The only condition of his early release is that he must maintain regular telephone contact with the local police station.
Had his request been denied, Beleri would have been released on October 14, when his sentence was set to officially conclude.
“Today’s ruling is just a drop in the ocean of justice that awaits us. My struggle begins now,” Beleri said following the announcement of the decision
He added that he plans to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights “for everything the Albanian regime denied me in a coup-like manner.”
“The rule of law and democracy in Albania remain unfulfilled. The institutions did not perform their duties, and justice was not delivered as it should have been,” he said.
Beleri also expressed gratitude to Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis for his “courageous decision” to include him on the New Democracy ticket for the European Parliament elections, saying it “changed the course of my history.”
Elected mayor of Himare in southern Albania last year, Beleri was arrested just two days after the election for vote-buying and sentenced to two years in prison. His case has significantly impacted relations between Greece and Albania.
