At the Tirana court, where the re-examination of the pre-trial detention of the elected mayor of Heimarra Freddy Beleris was discussed, a delegation of the Plenary Assembly of the Presidents of the Bar Associations of Greece, headed by its president Dimitris Vervesos, attended today and the president of the Bar Association of I.P. Messolonghiou Christos Paisio. At the same time, the court was attended by Patrick Henry, president of European Lawyers Without Borders, and the president of the Human Rights Committee of the Council of Lawyers of Europe (CCBE) and pr. president of the Liège Board of Directors and Athens lawyer Aris Katsalidas.

At noon, the delegation will hold a press conference in Tirana on the subject of pre-trial detention of the elected Mayor of Kheimarra

Also, regarding the arrest and continued detention of Freddy Beleris, the Plenary of Presidents in its relevant announcement states:

A. Violation of Article 3 of Protocol 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights

In the Beleri case we have repeated violations of Article 3 of Protocol No. 1 which applies to both national and local elections. More specifically, the right to free elections is a fundamental principle and is vital to establishing and maintaining the foundations of a true democracy governed by the rule of law. Article 3 of Protocol No. 11 grants the right to a citizen to stand for election and, if elected, to be able to exercise his or her mandate.

In the case of Beleris, the measure of his pre-trial detention violates his right to exercise his duties as the elected mayor of Heimarra. The duty of an elected representative is to represent his electorate, voice the concerns of the citizens and defend their interests. This is even more so if the charges against that representative are politically motivated.

The measure of pre-trial detention imposed on Beleris by both the Avlonas Court of First Instance and the SPAK courts in Tirana is extremely strict, if not arbitrary, because it ends up preventing Beleris from exercising his mandate as an elected mayor. of Himarra. The Albanian government is obliged to consider less stringent measures to ensure Beleri’s right to exercise his duties as the elected mayor of Himara.

B. Violation of Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights

The detention of Beleris and the arbitrary refusal of the Albanian courts to allow him to be sworn in as mayor, to participate in the meetings of the Municipal Council and to exercise his duties, violates the right to political expression as defined in Article 10 of the ECHR. This situation deprives Beleris of the possibility to effectively represent his voters and contradicts the effectiveness of the electoral process of May 14, 2023. It ends up undermining the popular will.

C. Violation of article 6 par.2 of the European Convention on Human Rights

The prime minister’s repeated comments and verbal attacks, his negative and biased position on the Beleris case and the use of crude, unwise language influence public opinion regarding Beleris’ guilt and prejudice the Court’s future decision. Prime Minister Edi Rama’s remarks went far beyond a mere spat with a political rival. They give the impression that the prime minister is satisfied with the arrest and continued detention of Beleris. The prime minister embodies, par excellence, the political authority responsible for the organization and proper functioning of justice in Albania. Therefore, he should be very careful not to say anything that could give the impression that he wants to influence the outcome of the proceedings pending before the Albanian courts.

D. Violation of the principle of proportionality of punishment

The principle of proportionality requires that there be a reasonable relationship between a specific objective to be achieved and the means used to achieve that objective. The detention of Beleris for more than 4 months for an alleged violation of the electoral law for 300 euros is obviously a disproportionate measure. Any restriction of rights imposed on a person must serve a legitimate purpose and respect the principle of proportionality.

Q. Eddie Rama to allow Beleris to be sworn in as mayor-elect

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama has repeatedly claimed that it is the “independent judicial authorities” that are preventing Beleri from being released from prison to be sworn in as mayor of Heimari. In fact there is no court order prohibiting Beleris from swearing. On the contrary, in decision 226 issued on June 26, 2023 by the Special Court of First Instance for Corruption and Organized Crime SPAK, which considered his request for permission to be sworn in as mayor, it is expressly stated that “the court finds that… it is not the competent authority and has no jurisdiction to decide on the approval of the permission requested by the person under investigation.’

The authorities responsible for granting this license are (a) the director of the Institution for the Execution of Criminal Sentences where he currently resides and (b) the General Directorate of Prisons. These entities are simple administrative units and not “independent judicial authorities. The Albanian prime minister must instruct his subordinates, that is, the director of the Institution for the Execution of Criminal Sentences of the prisons of Durrës or the General Directorate of Prisons, in order to facilitate the transfer of Beleris to Heimarra, escorted by policemen to be sworn in.”