Fredi Beleri, the newly elected Member of the European Parliament from the ranks of Greece’s New Democracy Party of Prime Minister Mitsotakis, will continue serving his 2-year prison sentence in Albania. The Albanian Special Court of Appeal Against Corruption and Organized Crime has upheld the ruling of the Court of First Instance that convicted Mr. Beleri of vote buying.

Context

Mr. Beleri was arrested on May 12, 2023, during his mayoral campaign in the small municipality of Himara in southern Albania, which he won despite being arrested, largely through the help of voters shipped in by bus from Greece. Caught red-handed attempting to buy votes, Mr. Beleri was subsequently sentenced to two years in prison for his actions and in accordance with Albanian law could not be sworn in as Mayor.

His case has heightened tensions between Greece and Albania. Greece contends that Mr. Beleri’s arrest and conviction are politically motivated, a violation of the rule of law and an attack on the Greek minority in Albania. It has threatened to impede Albania’s integration process. The Albanian government, on the other hand, has categorically refuted any claims of political motivation, emphasizing that Mr. Beleri was apprehended in the act of buying votes and was sentenced by the reformed justice institutions established and supported by the EU and the United States as part of Albania’s successful justice reform.

As a NATO member and EU candidate country, Albania maintains that governmental interference in judicial proceedings—whether to arrest or release prisoners—is no more possible in Albania than it would be in Greece, since both countries respect the rule of law and the independence of their judiciary.

Nevertheless, despite his incarceration for vote-buying, Mr. Beleri has been elected to the European Parliament as a representative of the Greek minority in Albania. In light of this, the Greek Ambassador to Albania argues for his release to enable participation in European Parliament sessions.

The decision of the Special Court of Appeals indicates that Albania’s justice system does not see things in the same way. Being elected MEP while serving a sentence for a serious criminal offense does not appear to warrant any leniency in the eyes of the Albanian judiciary.

Indeed, the fact that the Greek ruling party selected Mr. Beleri to be one of its candidates in the European elections was met with disbelief and accusations of hypocrisy and double standards in Albania. In 2015 Albania adopted its Law on Decriminalization, which disqualifies anyone who has been convicted of criminal offenses from running for public office. Given the fact that the Law on Decriminalization was adopted as a result of EU pressure, many in Albania find it hard to understand how the EU is failing to hold Greece – or for that matter the EU Parliament – to the same standards it expects of Albania as a candidate country.