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TIRANA, May 12 – The candidate of the “Together We Win” opposition coalition for the municipality of Himara, southern Albania, Fredi Beleri was arrested, police said on Friday, adding that his detention was made under the charge of buying and selling votes. The arrest operation was carried out shortly after midnight by SPAK on charges of vote-buying and he was taken to the police department of Vlora.
The arrest of Beleri, who is a candidate of the Greek minority running for mayor in Himara, took place two days before the May 14 local elections, and Beleri was supposed to attend the closing meeting of the electoral campaign on Friday evening. Recently, he has stated that he would “Hellenize Himara” something which has caused anger among Albanians.
The Prosecutor’s Office and the Police of Vlora made a statement regarding his arrest. The head of the Prosecutor’s Office of Vlora, Aurel Zarka, announced that the investigations started after the information that some people were involved in the buying and selling of votes in Himara for the May 14 local elections.
In the meantime, Prime Minister Edi Rama reacted in a post on social networks, saying that the arrest of Beleri by order of the prosecution constitutes a great test for justice on the eve of the elections. He emphasized that his violation of the law must be proven and his detention legally motivated.
The Prime Minister underlined that “our battle with that candidate has nothing to do with the investigations or the conclusions of the prosecution.”
Beleri’s candidacy, as the president of the local branch of Omonia, has garnered support from the Greek Minority Unity for Human Rights Party and Omonia, as well as the opposition coalition led by the Democratic Party, headed by former Prime Minister Sali Berisha, and the left-wing Freedom Party, led by former President Ilir Meta.
Beleri’s detention sparks a diplomatic reaction in Athens
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Friday that he had contacted European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen regarding the detention of Fredi Beleri, a Greek minority candidate running for mayor in Himara, Albania, according to Ekathimerini on Friday. Mitsotakis expressed his concerns about Beleri’s arrest, stating that the charges against him were unsubstantiated.
Mitsotakis stressed the firm stance of Greece and the EU, stating, “Albania needs to understand that Greece and the EU will not accept any compromises on the rule of law and the protection of the rights of the ethnic Greek minority.”
The Athens government has lodged a formal protest with the Albanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and diplomatic sources have confirmed that Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias reached out to Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama.
Minister of Citizen Protection Takis Theodorikakos also engaged in a phone conversation with his Albanian counterpart, Bledar Cuci, regarding the case. Theodorikakos requested the immediate release of Beleri.
Meanwhile, Greece’s ambassador to Albania, Konstantina Kamitsi, went to the Vlora Police Department to meet with Beleri, and afterwards travelled to Himara. /Argumentum.al
