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WORLD NEWS Friday 28 June 2024
Ethnic Greek imprisoned in Albania hopes his election to European

Parliament will boost rule of law

By NICHOLAS PAPHITIS An appeals court upheld the
Associated Press ruling on Tuesday.
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — An Beleris denies the charges,
Albanian prison cell wouldn’t claiming that Rama tar-
rank high among choice geted him to keep control
spots to run a successful of Himare, and that judges
campaign for election to the ignored evidence in his fa-
European Parliament. vor. Albanian officials strongly
Fredis Beleris, a member of reject his claims, citing the in-
Albania’s ethnic Greek mi- dependence of the judiciary.
nority, had no choice. Last Judicial corruption has long
year, he was elected mayor plagued post-communist Al-
of a town in southern Alba- bania. The system recently
nia a candidate to join the underwent deep reforms, fol-
European Union but lost his lowing EU and U.S. pressure to
office and is now serving a root out bribery and ensure
two-year sentence for vote- judges are independent from
buying in that election. politics. In March, Albanian
The case soured relations be- officials arrested Beleris’ main
tween the Balkan neighbors rival Jorgo Goro, who was
and led to the dual Greek- appointed acting Himare
Albanian citizen’s election mayor after the vote-buying
on June 9 to represent EU case. Goro was charged with
member Greece in the Eu- Fredis Beleris looks on as Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis visits to the ethnic Greek allegedly faking documents
ropean Parliament. He ran minority of Albania, in Himare, Albania, on Dec. 22, 2022. to obtain local land for an ex-
on the ticket of Greece’s Associated Press lawmaker planning a tourist
governing center-right party. in EU member Hungary was ing the EU would suffer. The mayor.” resort.
“I know (my election) will help released after her election case is complicated by frac- Beleris, 51, was arrested two Beleris said he believes that
put a spotlight on a major to the European Parliament tious Balkan politics, minority days before the May 14, at the heart of his case are
problem Albania faces, on an Italian party’s ballot. rights and property disputes 2023 municipal elections “huge financial interests as
which is the rule of law,” Members of the legislature on a prime coastal stretch of in Himare, on the Albanian far as tourist development is
Beleris told The Associated enjoy substantial legal immu- what’s marketed as the Al- Riviera, 220 kilometers (140 concerned.”
Press in a phone interview nity from prosecution within banian Riviera, the top tourist miles) southwest of the capi- “But it’s also that the Alba-
Thursday from prison. “Here, the 27-state EU, even over destination in the country. tal, Tirana. He was charged nian prime minister doesn’t
the judiciary is the long arm alleged crimes committed Some 10 million tourists visited with offering some 40,000 want the local (ethnic) Greek
of politics,” he added. “I before their election. But the small country last year, Albanian leks ($390) to buy population to share in that
think these problems must be Albania is not an EU mem- contributing about a fifth of eight votes. prosperity,” he said. “That’s a
brought to the fore — lack of ber, and unlike Beleris, the the economy. He won with a 19-vote lead, direct breach of our human
respect for the Greek ethnic new Italian member of the “I had no intention of en- backed by the ethnic Greek and minority rights.”
minority’s rights, such as the European Parliament had tering politics in Greece, it minority party and others op- Relations between Greece
right to property ... and to be not been convicted in court. was because of the need to posing Albanian Prime Min- and Albania have been at
governed by the people it Athens described Beleris’ highlight this huge problem,” ister Edi Rama’s governing times uneasy, largely over mi-
elects.” Beleris’ election isn’t detention and trial as politi- Beleris said. “Anybody who Socialists. But he never took nority rights and the sizeable
unique. An Italian leftwing ac- cally motivated and implied knows me knows for sure that office, being detained until Albanian migrant community
tivist held in pretrial detention Albania’s prospects of join- I would prefer to have been his court conviction in March. in Greece. q

Indonesia detains 103 foreigners in a raid in Bali involving

suspected cybercrime

By FIRDIA LISNAWATI and trict and detained 91 men pool and the three-story
EDNA TARIGAN and 12 women. Computers villa.
Associated Press and cellphones were also All are currently being held
DENPASAR, Indonesia (AP) seized, they said. at a detention center in
— Indonesian immigration “They are suspected of not Denpasar, Bali, officials
authorities have detained having documents and said.
103 foreign nationals after misuse of immigration per- Authorities said they are
a raid at a villa on the re- mits. Currently, the possibil- investigating whether the
sort island of Bali, officials ity of cybercrime is being group might have ties to in-
said Thursday. investigated based on the ternational syndicates.
Those arrested, including number of computers and Indonesia’s Directorate
Taiwanese, Chinese and cellphones found at the General of Immigration
Malaysians, were accused scene,” Silmy Karim, the di- plans to carry out another
of misusing their visas and rector general of immigra- joint operation to monitor In this photo released by the Directorate General of Immigration
residence permits, along tion, said in a statement foreign nationals in Bali. It of Indonesia’s Justice and Human Rights Ministry (Ditjen
with possible cybercrimes. Thursday. aims to ensure that foreign- Imigrasi), foreign nationals from China, Taiwan and Malaysia
who are detained on allegations of conducting cybercrime and
Immigration authorities said Authorities distributed pho- ers are staying on the island visa violations are lined up on the ground following a raid on a
they conducted the raid on tos showing dozens of de- in accordance with regula- villa in Tabanan, Bali, Indonesia, Wednesday, June 26, 2024.
Wednesday at a villa in Ku- tainees lying on their stom- tions and to maintain order Associated Press
kuh village in Tabanan dis- achs next to a swimming and security.q