The official stance from Athens persists in advocating for the release of the elected mayor of Himara, Fredi Beleri. He currently faces trial in Albania’s Special Court, charged with “active corruption in elections”.

Greek Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis communicated to the Greek state television network ERT that “Albania’s refusal to take the necessary steps to free Beleri and, more crucially, to prevent his swearing-in, which could potentially lead to his dismissal, would result in a significant deterioration of bilateral relations with Albania”.

Gerapetritis restated Greece’s position in his statement, asserting that “Beleri’s pretrial detention is illegal and undermines the principles of the rule of law”.

“The path toward Albania’s accession to the European Union cannot proceed when such a violation of the rule of law and the presumption of Mr. Beleri’s innocence exists,” declared Greek Foreign Minister Gerapetritis.

As per the head of Greek diplomacy, “the handling of this matter presents a substantial obstacle to Albania’s advancement toward the European community. The resulting tension is detrimental to our neighboring country”.

Albania’s Special Prosecutor’s Office recently announced the conclusion of investigations and the referral of the case involving Fredi Beleri, the elected mayor of Himara, to trial on charges of “active corruption in elections”.

Beleri’s arrest took place just two days before the local elections on May 14, under suspicion of vote-buying. He secured victory with a narrow vote margin over rival candidate Jorgo Goro.

All levels of the Albanian judicial system have upheld the arrest warrant for Beleri, thus preventing his assumption of office as the mayor of Himara.