Albanian appeals court upholds prison term for Greek minority mayor, raising tensions with Athens

By LLAZAR SEMINI
Associated Press

TIRANA, Albania (AP) — An Albanian appeals court has upheld a sentence of two years in prison for an elected mayor from the country’s Greek minority. The move on Tuesday is expected to further exacerbate tension with neighboring Greece. Dhionisios Alfred Beleris was imprisoned in March after he was convicted of buying votes in municipal elections last year. He was elected but never sworn in because of his arrest. Earlier this month, Beleris, who has dual citizenship, won a Greek seat in the European Parliament in the EU elections, representing Greece’s governing conservative New Democracy party.  Athens has described his detention as politically motivated.