Himare’s ethnic Greeks rally for detained mayor

A large number of ethnic Greeks attended a demonstration on Monday staged by the Omonoia organization in the southern Albanian city of Himare, demanding the immediate release of mayor-elect Fredi Beleri. 

Beleri was elected mayor of Himare on May 14 after being jailed on May 12 on suspicion of buying votes, a claim he vigorously contests. His numerous judicial appeals in Tirana have been dismissed.

Earlier, police tried to cancel the planned gathering by issuing a document saying that it had not approved the request to hold a rally. The representatives of Omonoia refused to receive it.

The event was attended and addressed by the mayors of Athens Kostas Bakoyannis and Thessaloniki Konstantinos Zervas, while a pre-recorded message from the vice-president of the European Commission, Margaritis Schinas, was shown.

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