Following a meeting in Brussels on Monday with Greek Minister Nikos Dendias on the sidelines of the Council of Foreign Affairs, Albanian Foreign Minister Olta Caska tweeted about the Freddie Beleris case, which threatens bilateral relations with a crisis. Greece – Albania.

“Meeting my colleague and good friend Nikos Dendias in Brussels was a good opportunity to honestly discuss the Beleri case. I have made it clear that this is a legal matter that should not affect relations between Greece and Albania. This is not a political issue or a human rights case, but rather a bilateral issue,” Ms. Chaska wrote, noting that the case is in the hands of an independent Albanian judiciary.

However, in Greece, as in the Greek minority of Albania, many express serious doubts both about the independence of the judiciary in the neighboring country and about the true motives for the prosecution of Freddy Beleris, who, although in custody, was elected Mayor of Heimarra on 15 May. . Even Albanian Foreign Minister Olta Chaska, whose husband is allegedly behind the construction of a super-luxury hotel on Heimarra Beach, is involved in the case.

Freddy Beleri, who turned out to be the president of the Omonia minority organization in Heimarra, was arrested by the Albanian police on May 12, 2023, on charges of trying to buy votes ahead of the upcoming municipal elections (held on May 14). The complaint was filed by Albanian citizen Arsen R., who in June 2020 was convicted of fraud by the court of first instance of Avlona. It is alleged that the two men knew each other personally as the complainant supplied fish to Belleri’s restaurant in Heimarra. The Albanian police wired Arsen R. that he was being sent to meet with Beleris.

According to the case file, Arsen R. constantly put pressure on Beleris, telling him that he had 8 voters under his control, and demanding 40,000 Albanian leks (360 euros) from him to vote for him. Beleris allegedly did not answer him, referring to his partner. This is Pantelis Kokavesis, whom the complainant claims he met in a shop called Gelateria, where he gave him money to buy votes.

family business

Regarding the consideration and decisions of Albanian justice in the case, sources close to Freddy Beleri’s defense raise a number of serious questions. They initially complain that the prosecutor’s decision to use special investigative actions, such as wiretapping Arsen R. and secretly recording his conversations with Beleris, was approved not before, but after the mayoral candidate was detained, in violation of the law. In other words, they raise the question of the invalidity of the preliminary investigation.

The real owner is said to be the husband of the Albanian Foreign Minister.

But even more important is the following: the prosecutor who handled the Beleri case, i.e. led the investigation of the Albanian police, is Matilda Peza. Her brother, Enkel Pesa, is the chairman of the Avlona Court of First Instance, which approved the special investigative actions of the police, issued an arrest warrant and, above all, decided on the pre-trial detention of Freddie Beleris. “As director, the court of first instance has quasi-power over its subordinate, the young judge who issued the detention order,” a Greek lawyer who is closely following the case commented to K.

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But there is something else that sources close to Freddy Beleris say is most likely behind his harassment and ongoing detention. The reason for the large tourist investment in Heimarra Beach, which is allegedly behind the businessman Artan Gatsi, the husband of the Albanian Foreign Minister Olta Chaska.

Information and publications about these specific investments were placed in the press in Albania and other countries. Mainly due to the decision made in the first half of 2022 by the government of Edi Rama to classify the construction of the hotel complex as a “strategic investment”. A development that provided the owner company with a number of privileges, most notably the opportunity to use the beach in front of the property for 30 years at a nominal price.

According to reports in the Albanian press, the following follows: As a rule, the construction of the hotel is carried out by the company AGTCC, which was created in June 2021 and allegedly belongs to a 30-year-old US citizen who was not previously engaged in professional activities. .

However, the investigative journalism website Balkan Insight, the Albanian Politico and the country’s opposition press have posted reports suggesting that the real owner of AGTCC is Artan Gatsi, the husband of the Albanian foreign minister. They mentioned, for example, that the lawyer who founded AGTCC turned out to be a legal advisor to Gatsi et al. The announcement of the latter as a strategic investor caused a reaction from the opposition, which raised the issue of a conflict of interest, demanding to deprive the Minister of Foreign Affairs of his parliamentary status.

How does the above relate to the Freddy Belleris case? From the documents brought to the attention of “K”, questions arise regarding the legality of the territory on which the elite hotel complex is being built. In other words, there are suspicions that an Albanian citizen encroached on a specific plot with a total area of ​​​​5,512 meters, who then sold it to current investors.

The municipality of Heimarra reportedly advocated for a final decision on the ownership of the specific site, paving the way for it to be handed over to the current owners. Some of Freddie Beleris’ entourage believe that one of the reasons for his prosecution and further detention is connected with this particular case. It is said that if the newly elected mayor of Heimarras finally manages to take office, the said investment in the city beach may be reconsidered. Such a development would be a blow to both the Albanian foreign minister and the government of Edi Rama.