Greek-Albanian relations strained over jailed mayor-elect from Albania's Greek minority

At the height of the tension between Albania and Greece surrounding the conviction in April of Fredi Beleri, a mayor-elect from Albania's Greek minority, the party of Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis nominated Beleri as a candidate for the EU elections, which are due to take place June 6–9.

News of the nomination, which put Beleri 25th on the party's list of 42 candidates, placed a strain on relations between the two neighboring countries and sparked intense debate on both sides of the border.

Beleri, who also holds Greek citizenship, was the candidate of the Albanian opposition party in the mayoral election in Himara, a town in southern Albania with a large ethnic Greek population, in May 2023. He was arrested two days before the poll for allegedly offering 40,000 Albanian leks (€395 / $400) to buy eight votes.

Fredi Beleri was arrested two days before the local election in Himara in 2023 for allegedly offering €395 to buy eight votes. He was visited in the Prison Hospital Center of Tirana (pictured here) by Greek MP Angelos SyrigosImage: Ani Ruci/DW

Despite being in detention at the time, Beleri won the election but was never sworn-in. He was sentenced in March to two years in prison, a verdict appealed by his lawyers. Both his arrest and sentencing elicited strong responses from the government in Athens.

Strongly differing views on Beleri

Beleri is a controversial figure in Albania. In 1994, he was investigated for alleged involvement in an attack in which two Albanian army officers were killed. No evidence to support the charges was found. A year later, in 1995, he was arrested and sentenced in Greece for the illegal possession of weapons at the Greek–Albanian border.

Some Greeks see him as the victim of political persecution and a defender of ethnic Greeks' property rights in Himara, where the government is hoping to build luxury tourist resorts.

Why did Greece put Beleri on its EU ticket?

For former Albanian Ambassador Arben Cejku, the Greek PM's decision to add Beleri to his party's list for the European election could backfire: "Mitsotakis is making a big mistake running Beleri for the European Parliament," he told DW. "This political act could turn into a boomerang. There are hundreds of other honorable figures who hold Albanian and Greek citizenship who could run and would help increase the vote of the New Democracy party better than a problematic character like Beleri."

The party of Greece's Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis (pictured here) has put jailed ethnic Greek Albanian mayor-elect Fredi Beleri on its list for June's EU electionsImage: Aris Messinis/AFP/Getty Images

Greece's largest opposition party, the left-wing Syriza, was opposed to Beleri's nomination, which it saw as an attempt by Mitsotakis to strengthen his political image.

Panajot Barka, a member of the Greek minority in Albania and a correspondent for the Greek state-owned Athens-Macedonian News Agency (AMNA) for almost 30 years, tends to agree. He told DW that "Beleri is being used by the Greek PM's party to create a shield to prevent his party from leaking votes to the far-right parties in Greece."

Greek minority in Albania welcomes Beleri's nomination

Marin Suli of Omonoia, an organization that promotes the rights of the Greek minority in Albania, sees nothing wrong in Beleri's nomination: "I see this nomination as a normal process within a democratic and European country such as Greece. [He] emerged from the proposal and selection process within the New Democracy party, and surveys indicate that Mr. Beleri won by a large number of votes," he told DW.

Greek political scientist Dimitris Christopoulos does not share this view. He feels that if Beleri were not in prison, he would never have been made a candidate for the European Parliament. "The 'Belerization' of Greek–Albanian relations is primarily Athens' initiative," he told DW.

Albanian PM Edi Rama has repeatedly rejected all claims that the case against Fredi Beleri was politically motivatedImage: Remo Casilli/REUTERS

"If we really want to understand what is happening today in the region, we have to look impartially and without national passion at what has really been happening in Himara over the last century and in particular after the end of the Cold War. Himara became a battlefield for Greek and Albanian nationalism. And we are paying the price for this today," said Christopoulos.

Although Albania and Greece signed the Treaty of Friendship, Co-operation, Good Neighborliness and Security in 1996, the two NATO allies are, technically, still in a state of war.

Judicial or political trial?

From the moment of his arrest in Himara last year, Beleri denied all charges against him. Both Beleri and representatives of the Greek minority in Albania claimed that the case was political. These claims have repeatedly been rejected by Albanian PM Edi Rama, who insists that the Beleri case is purely judicial.

The Greek minority disagrees: "Ours are not claims anymore. We have proof and scientific evidence that prove Mr. Beleri is a victim of a political process made-up and manipulated by PM Rama," said Marin Suli, who claims the prosecution falsified documents and openly violated the law.

Impact of the case on Greek–Albanian relations

Ambassador Arben Cejku also underlines the impact of the Greek government's actions on bilateral relations: "Frequent emotional reactions and tactless interventions of Athens brought no benefit to either Beleri or the relations between the two countries," he told DW.

Dimitris Christopoulos says that Greece and Albania should find a compromise on the Beleri case for the benefit of both countriesImage: Florian Schmitz/DW

After Beleri's arrest in May 2023, Athens warned that the case could impact Albania's EU accession efforts.

When asked a few months ago about the obstacles Greece could place in Albania's path to EU membership, Albanian PM Edi Rama was unequivocal: "I do not believe that Greece's concern about Beleri will continue until 2030, but if it does, then let's not join the EU."

When asked by DW earlier this week about the state of Greek–Albanian relations, Albanian Foreign Minister Igli Hasani was upbeat, describing them as excellent. "Greek Albanian relations have always been great," he said. "We have lived and coexisted in the east for centuries."

DW contacted both the Greek government and opposition party Syriza for comment, but no response had been received from either at the time of publication.

Looking at the broader picture, political scientist Dimitris Christopoulos urged caution on both sides: "Well-intended national pride can easily convert into nationalism and fierce arrogance. And these are not good counselors in international relations," he told DW. "Greece and Albania have more and very good reasons to find a decent compromise here and turn the page. There are far more important things for their future to deal with."

Edited by: Aingeal Flanagan