Incarcerated Greek mayor-elect Alfred “Fredi” Beleri has been granted temporary leave of his Albanian prison to be sworn in as an MEP in Strasbourg, according to the state-owned public broadcaster ERT.
European Commission Vice President Margaritis Schinas trumpeted the news on Friday, writing on social media platform X that the “respect for the right to vote and to be elected is a key element of any privileged state.”
“Justification that Fr. Beleris will officially take up his duties and participate in the European Parliament votes next week in Strasbourg,” the post states.
Beleri, a member of Albania’s ethnically Greek minority, is serving a prison sentence until October for buying votes in a municipal election, Albanian prosecutors allege.
Beleri was elected mayor of the Albanian city of Himare in 2023 but was stripped of the mayoral title at the beginning of the July, 2024.
A month before, in June, the 52-year-old’s was elected to European Parliament as part of the centre-right Greek New Democracy party.
It came as the Albanian appeals court upheld a two-year prison sentence for Beleris, a move which exacerbated tensions with neighboring Greece.
The Greek foreign ministry has said Beleris’ case “raises several questions concerning fundamental principles of the rule of law” in Albania.
The politician will return to Albanian prison following next week’s inaugural session.
