Edi

“Today, Edi Rama realized more than ever that I ask my questions without being influenced by anyone”

This week an Albanian court sentenced Fredi Beleri, the imprisoned mayor-elect of Himare, to 2 years in prison. Beleri slammed the trial and the court's decision as a "sham". This case is about much more than one individual, however, touching on deeper issues in Greek-Albanian relations.

A mayor from Albania's Greek minority who was sentenced to two years in prison on Tuesday for buying votes, described the judicial proceedings as a "sham trial."

Government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis has defended Greece's stance on the case of Fredi Beleri, the ethnic Greek mayor-elect in the southern Albanian town of Himare, who has been in pre-trial detention since May on vote-buying charges.

Albanian mayoral candidate Gjergj Goro, who assumed office amid the incarceration of opponent Fredi Beleri in the Albanian region of Himare, reportedly resigned on Saturday. 

Beleri, an ethnic Greek, has been incarcerated pending trial since May on vote-buying charges after his arrest on the eve of municipal elections which he won against Socialist candidate Jorgo Goro.

Fredi Beleri's request to be sworn in as mayor of Himare was rejected by Albania's Special Appeals Court for Corruption and Organized Crime on Monday.

Beleri was arrested in May on voting fraud charges just before winning the municipal election in the predominantly ethnic-Greek southern Albanian region of Himare. He is currently in pretrial detention.

Albania's Special Appeals Court for Corruption and Organized Crime is set to resume the examination of Fredi Beleri's request on Monday. Beleri, the elected mayor of Himare currently in pretrial detention on charges of vote-buying, is seeking permission to be sworn in before the municipal council.

Italy's government is hailing as "historic" a plan to send seaborne migrants to Albania, but experts and opposition politicians warn that it could face significant bureaucratic and human rights obstacles.

Police Director of Avlona allegedly took money to incriminate Beleris – Former Albanian Prime Minister’s allegations about his successor Edi Rama

Last Monday morning, I received a message from an unknown Albanian number that criticized a report I had written in last Sunday's Kathimerini on the imprisonment of Fredi Beleri, the ethnic Greek mayor-elect of the city of Himare in southern Albania, in which the Albanian prime minister is accused of involvement in his case.