Conversations arose at the European Parliament about the arrest of Fredi Beleri, mayor-elect of the ethnically Greek city of Himare, Albania,
Following a Foreign Affairs Committee Parliament meeting on Wednesday, discussing Albania’s potential to join the EU, Beleri’s arrest came up at a debate according to Brussels Signal.
The ethnic Greek was arrested in May last year on charges of allegedly bribing voters in a local election.
Many Greek critics claimed the move was an act of discrimination regarding Albania’s ethnic Greek minority.
Tensions rose on December 31 when Beleri was allowed 10 minutes to attend his grandmother’s funeral before returning to prison.
Mourners expressed their discontent, jeering at police officers and engaging in scuffles as they attempted to reach the mayor-elect before he was returned to a van.
EU Albanian Ambassador Suela Janina told Brussels Signal that they “only want justice to be done.”
“We will look at the facts and we hope that the results of the case are respected both within Albania and outside Albania in Europe.”
Meanwhile Albanian opposition members claimed it to be part of a wider clampdown by Prime Minister Edi Rama’s Socialist Government on them.
Janina’s comments came after MEPs had mixed opinions on Albania’s actions on not just Beleri but also the arrest of former-prime minister and Democratic leader Sali Berisha on corruption charges.
MEP for Greece, Anna-Michelle Assimakopoulou criticised the Beleri case saying the issue was bigger than just a two-nation squabble.
She claimed his hearing had been delayed and that he had been refused to permission to leave prison to speak in his capacity as mayor.
“It’s a case of respecting human rights, it’s not some bilateral issue between Albania and Greece,” she said.
“I’m not saying this because I’m a Greek MEP. No, this a European affair, a European issue … which weighs heavily on the process of accession to the European Union for the country.”
This ordeal could be troublesome for Albania’s hopes to join the EU, as Greece has said it may veto the membership if the country’s Greek minority are mistreated.
