An Albanian court on Tuesday jailed the country’s Greek minority mayor on charges of vote-buying, a decision expected to escalate tensions with neighboring Greece.
Greece had asked the Albanian government to suspend the case against Dionysios Alfred Belleri, saying the case could have a negative impact on Albania’s application to join the European Union. Albania is a candidate country that is in formal accession negotiations.
The Albanian government said it could do nothing while the case was in court.
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The Special Court on Corruption and Organized Crime sentenced Belleri to two years in prison.
The Albanian flag flies in Skopje, North Macedonia (then Macedonia), November 28, 2017. (Photo credit: Nake Batev/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
Belleri was elected mayor of Himara, 240 miles south of the capital Tirana. He was arrested days before the vote on suspicion of offering 40,000 Albanian Lek ($390 at the time) to buy eight votes. Although Belleri won the election, he could not be sworn in during his arrest.
Belleri’s lawyer, Jeni Jizari, argued that the verdict was “political, as ordered by the prime minister”, adding that he plans to appeal.
Greece’s Foreign Ministry said the court’s decision “reinforces the concerns already expressed regarding the objectivity of the (judicial) process” and called the sentence “clearly disproportionate.”
“Selective implementation of court decisions and pre-judgment of court decisions are not compatible with the rule of law,” the ministry said in a statement. “The Greek government is closely monitoring this case and looks forward to a fair and objective decision at the appeals court.”
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Relations between Greece and post-communist Albania have been volatile at times, mainly over issues of minority rights and Greece’s large Albanian community.
