Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama commented on Monday’s protests in Himara for the release of the elected mayor, Fredi Beleri.
In a lengthy comment on his Facebook account, Prime Minister Rama recalled that for several months, certain politicians and media in Greece have been urging Albania to release the elected mayor of Himara from prison.
Rama began the comment with a quote attributed to the Seven Wise Men of Greece, “Obey the Law”, while emphasizing that “Greece, like other European Union countries, has supported Judicial Reform in Albania without any reservation”.
“But who can release an Albanian citizen of Greek nationality from prison, who as a mayoral candidate is accused by the Special Prosecution against Corruption and Organized Crime of committing the crime of vote buying – for which the Albanian Penal Code is clear and drastic – and according to the decision unchanged at all levels of judgment, cannot be released from pre-trial detention until the end of the judicial process against him?!” Rama emphasized.
Similarly, Rama emphasized that “Albania is a European country with a new exemplary legislation for all minorities, where the Greek minority enjoys the same freedoms and rights as the Albanian community, where our citizens of Greek nationality are freely elected and chosen, as happened in the municipal elections of this year in Dropull and Finiq”.
Three months after the completion of the local elections on May 14 in Albania, the elected mayor of Himara, Fredi Beleri, has not been able to take the oath.
He is in prison, accused of “active corruption in elections” and is awaiting trial by the Special Court of First Instance for Corruption and Organized Crime.
Beleri has denied accusations and considered the investigation against him a political attack.
Albanian law on local self-governance stipulates that the mandate of the mayor is interrupted when they do not appear in office for more than 3 consecutive months, and August 14 marked the end of the deadline.
Greek minority organization “Omonia” called for a protest on Monday in Himara, attended by supporters of Beleri, political representatives of the “Together We Win” coalition, and mayors of the two largest Greek cities, Athens and Thessaloniki, as well as neighboring municipalities Igoumenitsa and Corfu.
Speakers at the gathering, including Ivi Kaso, Secretary of Electoral Affairs in the Democratic Party, Vangjel Dule, a representative of the Human Rights Party, and Ylli Manjani, former Minister of Justice, demanded the immediate release, the taking of the oath, and the assumption of duty by Fredi Beleri.
The mayors of the two largest municipalities in Greece, Kostas Bakoyannis of Athens and Konstantinos Zervas of Thessaloniki, expressed their support for the elected mayor of Himara.
“Pre-trial detention is illegal, a violation of rights and the presumption of innocence,” said Athens Mayor Bakoyannis. According to him, Beleri “has the right to take the oath and assume the duties for which the citizens voted”.
“We want to welcome Albania into the European family, we want to all live together in our European home, but this home needs strong foundations of democracy, the rule of law, political rights; these are our principles and are non-negotiable,” Bakoyannis said.
The arrest of opposition candidate Fredi Beleri two days before the local elections on May 14 in Himara has recently strained the relationship between Tirana and Athens because he represents the Union for Human Rights Party, which defends the rights of the Greek minority in Albania.
Official Athens has insisted that the prevention, in its view, of Beleri from being sworn in as the mayor of Himara will lead to a serious deterioration in the relations between the two countries and will impact Albania’s integration into the European Union.
The Albanian Government has stated that the independence of the judiciary must be respected, and proof and the word of justice should be patiently awaited, and no one should be hasty with political conclusions.
Fredi Beleri has been in pre-trial detention since his arrest under suspicion of vote buying two days before the elections, while Pandeli Kokaveshi, another person under accusation, has been placed under house arrest due to health conditions.
The Municipality of Himara has been led by Jorgo Goro, a representative of the Socialist Party, since 2011. In the recent elections, he lost by a very small margin to Beleri.
