Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs Giorgos Gerapetritis has called on the authorities of Albania to respect the rule of law in regards to the decision of the Supreme Court of Tirana to uphold the imprisonment of Fredi Beleri, whose appeal for release was rejected.<\/p>\n
In a statement addressing the situation, Gerapetritis notes that Beleri\u2019s imprisonment deprives him of undertaking the duties assigned to him by the citizens of Himara, as he is not able to take the oath in front of the Municipal Council.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a negative development, which constitutes a clear violation of the fundamental principles of the rule of law, which Albania must respect and strictly adhere to if it wants to become a member of the European family,\u201d Gerapetritis states.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe call on the Albanian government to ensure immediately, legislatively or administratively, the immediate swearing-in of Mr. [Fredi] Beleri, inside or outside prison. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will continue to closely monitor the development of the case and will raise this issue in all international forums,\u201d the statement concludes.<\/p>\n
On July 25, the Supreme Court ruled to uphold the security measure of \u201carrest in prison\u201d for Fredi Beleri, elected mayor of the Municipality of Himara.<\/p>\n
Beleri\u2019s arrest on accusations of vote-buying just two days before the local elections on May 14, did not stop him from managing to secure a narrow victory against the Socialist candidate, Jorgo Goro, who had previously served as Himara\u2019s mayor for two terms. Representing the Human Rights Union Party, Greek expatriate Fredi Beleri was nominated by the opposition coalition \u201cTogether We Win\u201d, consisting of the Freedom Party led by former President Ilir Meta and the Democratic group under the guidance of former Prime Minister Sali Berisha.<\/p>\n
The arrest and subsequent legal developments have not only drawn sharp reactions within Albania but have also prompted strong responses from authorities in Greece. While Albanian authorities assert that Beleri\u2019s case is solely a matter of the justice system, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis warned of souring relations with Albania over the case, threatening to block the country\u2019s EU accession path if Beleri is not released.<\/p>\n
In the aftermath of his arrest, Beleri sought special permission to attend the Municipal Council\u2019s inauguration meeting to take the oath of office, but this request was also denied. Legally, Beleri\u2019s situation remains precarious, as the law stipulates that a mayor\u2019s mandate ends when he \u201crefuses to take the oath\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs Giorgos Gerapetritis has called on the authorities of Albania to respect the rule of law in regards to the decision of the Supreme Court of Tirana to uphold the imprisonment of Fredi Beleri, whose appeal for release was rejected. In a statement addressing the situation, Gerapetritis notes that Beleri\u2019s imprisonment […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":57883,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[153],"tags":[270,759,2142,644,3593,1641,2783,243,151,1015,2072],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n