Himare Fredi Beleri

The ethnic-Greek mayor-elect of the Albanian town of Himare Fredi Beleri should receive a jail sentence of two and a half years, Albanian prosecutors said at his trial on Tuesday.

The "rule of law does not function in Albania," the ethnic Greek mayor-elect of the Albanian city of Himare Fredi Beleri has said.

Beleri was detained in May on suspicion of voter fraud. All his appeals to be released in order to be sworn in as mayor have been turned down by the Albanian courts.

After Albanian Foreign Minister Olta Xhacka met with her Greek counterpart Nikos Dendias last Monday to discuss elected ethnic Greek mayor of Himare Fredi Beleri's jailing on charges of buying votes, she tweeted: "The meeting w/my colleague & good friend FM @NikosDendias in Brussels was a good opportunity to discuss in a frank manner Mr Beleri's case.