Greeks denounce Albanian trial of mayor-elect as political [vid]

Greece is threatening to hold up Albanian progress towards European Union membership, even as the EU attempts to inject greater urgency into a stalled accession process for the Western Balkans.

The reason is the imprisonment on May 11 of an ethnic Greek mayoral candidate in Himare, a sleepy town of fewer than 10,000 votes on the Adriatic coast with a large ethnic Greek cohort.

“This decision will have repercussions on the EU’s relationship with Albania, which depends on … European rules and the rule of law,” announced the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis last month said the case “overshadows” relations with Albania and “reverses” any improvements that were made. In recent weeks, he visited Albania, and his Albanian counterpart, Edi Rama, held an exhibition of his art in Athens.

Fredi Beleri was elected mayor while in prison, but has not been sworn in because Albania’s courts have turned down five applications to release him or to allow him to be sworn in while imprisoned.

Beleri, who won by 19 votes, is accused of buying eight of them, and courts claim he could attempt to tamper with prosecution witnesses, his lawyer told Al Jazeera.

His case goes to court on Thursday.

Beleri has pleaded innocent to the charges. His son, Petros Beleri, said his arrest had a political purpose.

“It terrorised people, especially in the ethnically Albanian villages that are quite a way away from the town of Himare,” Petros Beleri told Al Jazeera.

“People were afraid and voted for Rama’s man. More than 1,000 votes were lost that way. The prime minister knew he was headed for a big loss in Himare … the message people got was, ‘I am in charge in Himare, and whoever disagrees will get this treatment’,” Petros Beleri said.

Source: aljazeera.com//John Psaropoulos