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| Fredi Beleri while leaving the prison cell in Tirana accompanied by a prison guard |
As predicted in the permission granted by the Directorate of Prisons, at 06:30 AM this Monday, Alfred Beleri left his cell in the Fier prison to head towards the European Parliament, where he will take the oath as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP).
He was met by a vehicle with Greek diplomatic plates, along with his family members and supporters. For the Greek media, he expressed his gratitude for their support and stated that he would say more in Athens, while he would speak to the Albanian media at the airport.
The day before, the Directorate of Prisons granted him a five-day leave to travel to Strasbourg to take the oath as an elected MEP from the New Democracy party in Greece. Beleri had been requesting leave from his cell for several days, but only this Sunday did the commission in the Directorate of Prisons decide to approve his request.
Beleri has been in jail since May of last year, when he was arrested for vote buying. The former elected Mayor of Himara lost his mandate following the decision of the Central Election Commission and the Special Court of Appeals, which sentenced him to two years of imprisonment. From his cell, Beleri managed to obtain the mandate as an MEP.