Dhermi

Albania Special Prosecutors Office in Tirana. Photo: Albanian Prosecution Office.

Tirana's Special Court Against Organised Crime and Corruption found Sokol Bode, chief of police in the southern Albanian village of Dhermi, guilty in absentia.

Bode has been on the run since Italian police cracked a cannabis smuggling ring dubbed 'the Habilaj Brothers.'

Mayor of Tepelena Termet Peci (centre) addressing supporters in the Church of St Nicolas in the village of Lekel. Photo: Termet Peci Facebook

"The use of sacred churches for political activity insults religious and institutional feelings," a statement issued on Monday reads.

Albanian police have demolished a contested church dedicated to St Athanas in the southern village of Dhermi, angering the Orthodox Church and neighbouring Greece, which supports the Church's mission.

The Orthodox Church called it a vandalistic act of desecration and a violation of church property. Greece said the Albanians were behaving like Islamist extremists.

The Greek Foreign Ministry on Sunday condemned what it called a "violent incident" at the church of Saint Athanas in the Albanian village of Dhermi, describing what happened as "unacceptable and contemptible".

Construction police from the local Himara Municipality went to Dhermi on Friday to remove the concrete roof of the church, claiming it was an illegal build.