Himare property rights on agenda for Brussels

Fredi Beleri was released from a prison in Albania on Monday, September 2, and on Monday, September 9, is expected in Brussels, where he will serve as a member of the European Parliament after being elected on the ticket of Greece's governing New Democracy in June.

The mayor-elect of the predominantly ethnic Greek Albanian city of Himare was blamed shortly before the local elections there in May 2023 for the actions of an associate who attempted to buy seven votes for a total of 350 euros. He was remanded in pretrial custody despite scant evidence and was prevented on several occasions from taking his oath as mayor. The only leave from prison he was granted by the Albanian authorities was to travel to Strasbourg to accept his new office, which was given to him by the people of Greece with 245,874 votes, making him ND's fourth most popular candidate.

In this interview...