HIMARE – The Special Court of Tirana is to decide next Monday, May 22, whether the newly-elected mayor of Himare, ethnic Greek Fredi Beleri, and his associate Pantelis Kokavessis will be released from prison or remain jailed on remand, according to judicial and diplomatic sources in the Albanian capital

The secretary general of the Greek Foreign Ministry, Haris Lalakos, visited Beleri on Thursday to witness the conditions of his incarceration with his his own eyes, as well as the state of his health.

The court’s decision will determine what happens next, primarily as regards Beleri’s formal assumption of his duties as mayor.

The case has prompted strong reactions, both in Greece and among Albania’s Greek minority, and is being handled by a prosecutor in SPAK, Albania’s independent anti-corruption agency.