Fredi Beleri, a member of Albania’s ethnic Greek minority, was elected earlier this year and is set to temporarily leave prison to assume his seat in the European Parliament.
Fredi Beleri was convicted both in the first instance and in the second degree for active bribery.
The ruling Conservatives has announced Fredi Beleri, an ethnic Greek mayor-elect in Albania recently sentenced to two years in prison for vote-buying, as a candidate for the upcoming European elections.
"On May 14, 2023, the municipal elections were held in Himare. Two days before the elections, Fredi Beleri was arrested and remains in temporary custody to this day, having already been convicted at first instance for alleged bribery.
The two-year jail sentence lowered on ethnic Greek and Himare mayor-elect Fredi Beleri "intensifies concerns expressed in relation to how objective the process was," the Greek Foreign Affairs Ministry said on Tuesday.
The trial "is set up in bad taste and they want me tried without me knowing the reason", noted Beleri in a statement.
