Belleri maintains his innocence. “With a false criminal record, no evidence, no other witnesses except for one who took bribes from the police, and no contact with a lawyer in a glass cage, an Albanian court today ruled that I sentenced to two years in prison,” he said in a statement.
Athens has asked Tirana to be released and sworn in, even if in prison, but so far to no avail.
Albania's suspicions about Belleri run deep, often claiming he was involved in a resurgent extremist terrorist network. In 1995, a year after the attack that killed two Albanian soldiers, he arrested, Sentenced to three years' probation in Greece for conspiracy to possess weapons.
His alleged involvement in these activities has been repeatedly investigated by the Albanian judiciary in 1994, 2005 and 2015, but no evidence has been found against him. Belleri provided evidence that he was in Cyprus when the 1994 attack occurred, including a stamped passport.
Meanwhile, Goro, the mayor of Himara, was also arrested on corruption charges in April. He had been accused by Belleri of creating fake documents to acquire government land and build a resort. Blerina Bala of the Socialist Party Group was appointed acting mayor.
Rift with EU allies
Greece says Belleri's case reflects concerns about the rule of law in a country seeking to join the EU and should be seen as a European rather than bilateral issue. Athens also insists that Albania's path to EU membership must respect the Greek minority.
