The Foreign Minister of Greece, Georgos Gjerapetritis, has spoken again about the case of the elected mayor of Himara, Fredi Beleri, who has been in prison since May 12 on the charge of vote-buying.
This time, the Greek minister was even more clear when he implied that his country will block Albania's path to the European Union.
He said during a conference in Athens that Greece cannot accept candidate countries that do not meet the membership criteria and the basic principles of the EU, such as democracy and the rule of law, meaning Albania.
Asked about Beleri, Gjerapetritis said that his arrest and detention "constitutes a deviation from European law", as well as "a clear violation of Mr. Beleri's political rights, violation of the presumption of innocence and the rule of law". .
"The case of the elected mayor of Himarë Municipality, Fredi Belerti, I think constitutes a deviation from European law. It is an aberration, as long as a chairman elected for the local government, has not been able to take over his duties, because he has not been allowed to take the oath and take over his duties.
This, from the point of view of our country and from the point of view of international law, constitutes a clear violation of Mr. Beleri's political rights, a violation of the presumption of innocence and the rule of law," said the Greek minister.