Elected mayor from Greek minority gets 2 years in Albania

An Albanian court on Tuesday, March 5, sentenced Dionisios Alfred Belleri – he was given two years in prison for election fraud.

Such a verdict could significantly complicate Albania’s entry into the European Union, as Greece warned, and would certainly increase tensions between the two countries. writes Reuters agency.

Belleri was arrested in May 2023 and accused of buying votes during the mayoral campaign in the southern city of Himare. A member of the Greek minority won the election, but was never sworn in while in pre-trial detention. Belleri denied any wrongdoing.

The Special Corruption and Organized Crime Court ruled that Belleri “committed the criminal offense of active corruption during the election… and should be punished with two years’ imprisonment.” Belleri has 15 days to appeal.

Greece demanded that Belleri be sworn in pending trial, but Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama said it was a judicial and not a political matter.

Relations between Albania and Greece often flared up due to cultural and historical differences, as well as the huge number of Albanian immigrants in Greece and the Greek minority in Albania. Greece said the court’s decision raised concerns about the objectivity of the trial. In a statement, the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs said:

“The Greek government will closely monitor the progress of the case and hopes for a fair and objective decision by the court of second instance.”

Greece’s position is that Albania must respect the rights of its elected mayor, and that its bid to join the European Union depends on this.

How told our edition in May 2023, Fredi Belleri, candidate for mayor of the municipality of Himara, and two other people were arrested by Albanian special forces. The arrest was made on charges of alleged “vote buying.”

The reaction of the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which sent a demarche to the Albanian Foreign Ministry, and the telephone contact between Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias and Prime Minister Edi Rama were immediate. The Greek minority organizations in Albania, OMONIA and KEAD, reacted sharply to what they considered an unprecedented attack against Albanian Hellenism.

Fredi Belleri, president of the local branch of OMONIA, participated in the municipal elections in Himare as a mayoral candidate, supported by both the Union of Human Rights (KEAD) party and OMONIA, as well as the opposition coalition led by the Democratic Party of Sali Berisha and the Freedom Party of the former President of the Republic Ilira Meta.

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