Albanian authorities grant leave to jailed ethnic Greek ex-mayor for European Parliament opening

TIRANA, Albania (AP) — Albania’s prison department has granted a five-day leave to an ethnic Greek minority former mayor to attend the opening session of the new European Parliament in Strasbourg. Fredis Beleris was granted leave July 15-20. He must return to serve the remaining time on his two-year prison sentence. Beleris, who has dual Greek and Albanian citizenship, is a member of the European Parliament. He won a Greek seat in the EU legislature in elections last month, representing the governing conservative New Democracy party. Albania, a former communist country and a current NATO member, has a historically tense relationship with Greece, largely over issues of Greek minority rights and the sizable Albanian community in Greece.