The Special Court has sentenced the elected mayor of Himara, Fredi Beleri, to two years in prison. Fredi Beleri is accused by the Special Prosecutor’s Office of active corruption in the elections, and he was asked to be sentenced to 2.6 years in prison.
Beleri and Kokoveshi were arrested, just two days before the date when the vote was to be taken to elect the new mayors. Beleri was a candidate of the “Together We Win” coalition against the socialist mayor of Himara, Jorgo Goro, who ran for his fourth mandate.
The prosecution accused Beleri of “active corruption in the elections”, claiming to have proven beyond any doubt that he had offered a police associate 50 euros for every vote he could find in his favor as mayor of Himara.
In his testimony in court, Beleri stated that SPAK and the State Police are influenced by politics.
“I demand justice from the court even though I know that I am under great political pressure, but this is not my problem. SPAK is lying, I understand that it is a political order, but the jury must judge.
For no other defendant for the same criminal offense that I am accused of, SPAK has not requested such a high sentence, 2.6 years in prison, but only with probation,” Beleri said further.
At the end of the session, his defense lawyer considered the decision political, while saying that they will appeal the decision./abcnews.al
