Saga of Greek MEP jailed in Albania has—perhaps—come to an end

Brussels – The legal troubles of Fredi Beleri, former Mayor of the Albanian municipality of Himarë and elected as an MEP in the Greek lists, finally seem to be over—almost. His case had become a cause for diplomatic clash between the two countries, which accused each other of interfering in investigations and politicising justice. After over a year behind bars, the Hellenic-born Albanian politician (who holds dual passports) was released from prison. He will now be able to represent his constituents—and the Greek minority in Albania—in the European Parliament.

The release of Beleri, celebrated with a tweet by Manfred Weber, the head of the European People’s Party (EPP) to which New Democracy belongs, took place on Monday (September 2). As confirmed to the press by his lawyer, the release came under the conditional release formula, which requires Beleri to “maintain five weeks of contact with the prison service.” The former first citizen must now serve a further six weeks’ imprisonment before he fully completes his sentence, which was reduced after he was elected a member of the European Parliament.

Beleri was jailed on charges of vote buying in May 2023, two days before the municipal elections, which he later won but could not take office. He was then sentenced to a final sentence of two years imprisonment last June after an appeal upheld the first-instance conviction handed down in March this year. He reportedly plans to appeal this decision before the Strasbourg-based European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). For the time being, he has already travelled to the Alsatian city as an MEP for the inaugural session of the tenth legislature (last July), being the third elected from the ranks of his party in terms of number of preferences.

The 52-year-old Beleri, therefore, was elected as an MEP while behind bars, just as happened to Italian Ilaria Salis, who got an MEP seat while imprisoned in Budapest. Two rather unusual cases and a mystery concerning the rules on parliamentary immunity of MEPs—especially in Beleri’s case, since Albania is a non-EU country. Meanwhile, municipal elections were repeated in Himarë last August 4 and won by Vengjel Tavo, also of Greek descent and belonging to Premier Edi Rama’s Socialist Party.

From Athens, Deputy Prime Minister Pavlos Marinakis commented on the release as “definitely a positive development” but added, “This does not mean that we will forget what happened.” The Greek government claims, as does Beleri himself, that the trial brought by Albanian authorities is politically motivated. The allegation was rejected by Tirana, which, on the contrary, criticizes Greece for interfering in its domestic judicial affairs.

However, the diplomatic spat between the two Balkan countries could have real consequences. Indeed, the Greek conservative government, led by Kyriakos Mitsotakis (Beleri’s party mate), threatened to block Albania’s progress on its path to accession to the EU if Tirana did not put an end to what it considered an unjustified violation of the political rights of the former Mayor of Himarë. For now, negotiations for the former communist country’s entry into the bloc have yet to be unblocked.