Ditari i Opozitës

Beleri to "Reuters": The only fair decision will be my release on Friday

Beleri to "Reuters": The only fair decision will be my release on

The elected Mayor of Himara, Fredi Beleri, won the mandate of the MEP in the European elections, representing the New Democracy Party of Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

In an interview with 'Reuters', Beleri said that the fairest decision for him would be release from prison on Friday.

"The only fair decision would be my release," Beleri told Reuters in a telephone interview from prison. "There is no evidence against me. There is no way that the decision will be different in any other state."

The 'Beleri' case has soured relations between Albania and Greece, whose ties have often soured due to cultural and historical differences, as well as the many Albanian immigrants in Greece and the Greek minority in Albania.

Beleri said his victory was a message to ex-communist Albania, which is seeking to join the EU.

"It cannot behave like a non-European country," he said.

Beleri said that Albania's EU membership was in the best interest of both countries.

"Neither I nor, I believe, the Greek government have any intention to harm the admission of any country," he said. "But an Albania that is a member of the EU, but that does not respect the rule of law and the will of the people, does not belong there," he said.

Fredi Beleri was arrested in May 2023 during an election campaign for mayor in his hometown of Himare, on the picturesque Albanian Riviera, which has an active ethnic Greek community. He then won, but was never sworn in while in custody. He was jailed in March this year for election fraud.

After Beleri was jailed last year, Greece demanded his immediate release, warning it could affect Albania's EU bid.

 

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