Ethnic Greek imprisoned in Albania hopes his election to European Parliament will boost rule of law

Associated Press

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Fredis Beleris, an ethnic Greek politician imprisoned in Albania for vote-buying, says he hopes his election this month to the European Parliament will help boost the rule of law in Albania. Beleris told The Associated Press in an interview from prison on Thursday that he would have preferred to serve as mayor of the southern Albania community he was elected to lead last year, before his arrest and conviction. He lost his office and is now serving a two-year sentence for vote-buying in that election. His case has soured relations between Balkan neighbors Greece and Albania.