Freddy Beleris, the MEP from New Democracy, is being released after 16 months, with the only restriction being that he must maintain telephone contact with the police station.
Mr. Beleris, who has been detained for 16 months, convicted for vote buying, was seeking early release, having served over two-thirds of his sentence. Although the prosecutor rejected the release request, arguing that Mr. Beleris is unrepentant, the court ruled that the New Democracy MEP could be released under the condition that he periodically communicates by phone with the Albanian police.
“Today’s decision is just a drop in the ocean of the vindication that awaits us. My fight is just beginning,” he stated in a comment following the announcement of his release from Albanian prisons.
“After 16 months of continuous detention, I am now free and proud, but certainly not happy,” he noted, adding that “the rule of law and democracy in Albania have not been restored, the institutions did not function, and justice was not served as it should have been.”
He also mentioned that he will appeal to the European Court of Human Rights “for what the Albanian regime has denied me in a coup-like manner,” as he noted, adding that “now, as I perform my duties as a Greek MEP, I will be able to focus on the issues of the Greek national minority and the rule of law, without fear, but only with passion.”
He adds that today he will be “among my brothers in Himara, where my adventure began, and I consider it only right to be there.”
In his statement, he sincerely thanked Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis “for his courageous decision to include me in the New Democracy electoral list, which changed the course of my history,” and his “close” friends, Angelos Syrigos and Stavros Papastavrou, for their “unwavering support.”
“They were always there, and I will not forget that,” he said, concluding by thanking the Greek citizens “who all this time gave me the strength not to bend, to endure, and to continue fighting.”
Gerapetritis: Positive development, the violations of the rule of law remain unchanged
Freddy Beleris’s release is a positive development, but the violations that have occurred concerning the rule of law and fundamental principles have not changed, and Greece will continue to care for the Greek national minority in Albania and highlight issues related to International Law and the European Acquis, stated Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis.
“The release of the elected MEP, Freddy Beleris, after about 16 months of detention and imprisonment, constitutes a positive development. However, this does not negate what has happened and led to his prolonged detention and all that we already know regarding the rule of law and fundamental principles. Greece will continue to care for the Greek national minority and highlight issues related to International Law and the European Acquis,” emphasized the Foreign Minister in response to a journalist’s question.