Albanian authorities grant leave to jailed ethnic Greek ex-mayor for European Parliament opening

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Albania’s prison department Sunday granted a five-day leave to an ethnic Greek minority former mayor to attend the opening session of the new European Parliament in Strasbourg.

The prison department’s statement said Fredis Beleris, 51, was granted leave July 15-20. He must stay in contact with police and return to serve the remaining time on his two-year prison sentence.

Beleris, who has dual Greek and Albanian citizenship, is a member of the European Parliament. He won a Greek seat in the EU legislature in elections last month, representing the governing conservative New Democracy party.

Albania, a former communist country and a current NATO member, has a historically tense relationship with Greece, largely over issues of Greek minority rights and the sizable Albanian community in Greece.

Beleris was convicted of offering 40,000 Albanian leks (360 euros at the time) to buy eight votes in last year’s municipal election. Beleris was elected mayor of the town of Himare, 240 kilometers (150 miles) south of the capital, Tirana, after being arrested two days before the vote. He was never sworn in because he was under arrest. He was later sentenced to prison.

Beleris has denied the charges against him.

European Parliament lawmakers enjoy substantial legal immunity from prosecution, even if the allegations relate to crimes committed prior to their election. In the case of Beleris, that rule is unlikely to affect the outcome, as he is serving time for a crime committed in a non-EU member country.

After the appeals court verdict, Albanian election authorities stripped Beleris of his post as Himara’s mayor and a new election will be held Aug. 4.

Beleris’ case has strained ties between Tirana and Athens, with Greece saying the case could harm Albania’s application to join the European Union. Albania, a candidate country, is in the process of negotiating full membership.

Albania’s government said it could do nothing while the case was in court.

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