Ethnic Greek politician jailed in Albania arrives in Athens en route to European Parliament opening

ATHENS, Greece — A jailed member of Albania's ethnic Greek minority — recently elected to the European Parliament with Greece's governing conservative party — arrived in Athens Monday en route to Strasbourg, after being granted a five-day leave from prison to attend parliament's opening session.

A dual Greek-Albanian citizen, 51-year-old Fredis Beleris is serving a two-year prison sentence in Albania for vote-buying in municipal elections last year in Albania – a candidate to join the European Union. He denies the charges, and Greece has described the case against him as being politically motivated.

''I am proud that I am going to assume my duties as a European deputy, to fight for and defend the rights of our homeland and of Greeks wherever they might live,'' Beleris told reporters at the airport in Athens, where he was greeted with hugs from well-wishers.

European Parliament members enjoy legal immunity from prosecution within the 27-state EU, even for allegations relating to crimes committed prior to their election. But Albania is not an EU member.

Beleris headed from the airport to a meeting with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis before his flight to Strasbourg scheduled for Monday afternoon.

''I believe that the rule of law, the right to elect and be elected, are not self-evident in the country in which we live. I want to help with that,'' Beleris told Mitsotakis during their meeting, according to a transcript released by the prime minister's office. ''To help the Greek ethnic minority stay in its ancestral home, but also for this state to come closer and become a member of the European family.''

Athens has implied Albania's prospects for joining the EU could suffer due to the Beleris case, which is also complicated by minority rights and property disputes on a prime coastal stretch of what's marketed as the Albanian Riviera, the country's top tourist destination.

The Greek prime minister, who has strongly backed Beleris, gave the politician a place on his New Democracy party ticket in last month's European elections. Beleris received 238,801 votes and came fourth among the seven MEPs elected for the party.

Beleris was arrested two days before the May 14, 2023 municipal elections in Himare, a predominantly ethnic Greek town on the Albanian Riviera, 220 kilometers (140 miles) southwest of the capital Tirana. He was charged with offering about 40,000 Albanian leks (360 euros or $390) to buy eight votes.

He won the election with a 19-vote lead, backed by the ethnic Greek minority party and others opposing Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama's governing Socialists. But he never took office, being detained until his court conviction in March. An appeals court upheld the ruling last month, and Albanian authorities stripped Beleris of his post as mayor of Himara, where a new election will be held Aug. 4.

Beleris has denied any wrongdoing, claiming Rama directly targeted him to keep control of Himare, and that judges ignored evidence in his favor. Albanian officials strongly reject his claims, citing the independence of the judiciary.