What comes after the conviction?

Things are judged by results, and in the case of Fredi Beleri, things have not gone at all well. The mayor-elect of the predominantly ethnic Greek town of Himare in southern Albania is to remain in prison until September 12, 2024. Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama's goal is for the appeal trial to be finished by September too, so that Beleri can be convicted once and for all and disqualified. Rama can then call fresh elections in Himare and is hoping that the climate of fear and various forms of pressure will allow a mayor of his liking to be elected.

The Americans and the Europeans are still not convinced that the Beleri case is a question of democracy and rule of law, and a violation of human rights. Furthermore, with the exception of certain resolutions put forward and coordinated by Greece, no serious international organization has gotten behind the case (such as, for...