TIRANA, Albania (AP) — An Albanian court on Tuesday imprisoned a mayor from the country’s Greek minority on vote-buying charges, a ruling that was expected to raise tensions with neighboring Greece.
Greece had called on Albania’s government to stop the process against Dhionisios Alfred Beleri, saying the case could negatively impact Albania’s application to join the European Union. Albania is a candidate member negotiating full membership.
Albania’s government has said it could do nothing while the case was in court.
The Special Court on Corruption and Organized Crime gave Beleri a two-year sentence.
Beleri was elected mayor of Himare, 240 kilometers (150 miles) south of the capital, Tirana. He was arrested days before the vote while allegedly offering 40,000 Albanian leks ($390 at the time) to buy eight votes. Beleri won the election but could not be sworn in while under arrest.
Beleri’s lawyer Geni Gjyzari asserted that the verdict was “political as the prime minister had ordered it,” adding that he would appeal.
Relations between Greece and post-communist Albania have been uneasy at times, largely over issues of minority rights and the sizable Albanian community in Greece.
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