TIRANA, Albania (AP) — Albanian election authorities on Friday stripped an ethnic Greek minority mayor of his post after he was imprisoned on charges of vote-buying in municipal elections last year.
A new election will be held Aug. 4.
Fredis Beleris, 51, was elected mayor of the Albanian city of Himare — a town in the Albanian Riviera 240 kilometers (150 miles) south of the capital, Tirana, that has a Greek minority presence — in May 2023. He was arrested two days before the election while allegedly offering 40,000 Albanian leks (360 euros; $390) to buy eight votes.
Last month an Albanian appeals court upheld a two-year prison sentence for Beleris, a move which exacerbated tensions with neighboring Greece.
In response to Friday's decision, the Greek foreign ministry issued a statement saying Beleris' case “raises several questions concerning fundamental principles of the rule of law” in Albania.
Beleris belongs to the Human Rights Union Party of the ethnic Greek minority, but in last year’s municipal vote he was the candidate for a coalition that also included the center-left Freedom Party of former President Ilir Meta and a breakaway group from the center-right opposition Democratic Party of former Prime Minister and President Sali Berisha.
Beleris has denied the charges, and Athens has described his detention as politically motivated.
Beleris, who has dual citizenship, also won a Greek seat in the European Parliament representing the governing conservative New Democracy party in European Union elections last month.
Greece has warned Albania that Beleris' case could negatively impact its application to join the EU. Albania is in the process of negotiating full membership.
Albania’s government said it could do nothing while the case was in court.
European Parliament lawmakers enjoy substantial legal immunity from prosecution, even if the allegations relate to crimes committed prior to their election.
In Beleris' case that rule is unlikely to affect the outcome, as he is serving time for a crime committed in a non-EU member country.
Greece and Albania, a former communist country and a current NATO member, have a historically tense relationship, largely over issues of Greek minority rights and the sizable Albanian community in Greece.
FILE - Fredis Beleris looks on as Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis visits to the ethnic Greek minority of Albania, in Himare, Albania, on Dec. 22, 2022. Fredis Beleris, an ethnic Greek politician jailed in Albania for vote-buying, says he hopes his election this month to the European Parliament will help boost the rule of law in Albania. Beleris told The Associated Press in an interview from prison that he would have preferred to serve as mayor of the southern Albania community he was elected to lead last year, before his arrest and conviction. His case has soured relations between Balkan neighbors Greece and Albania. (Dimitris Papamitsos/Greek Prime Minister's Office via AP, File)
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian missiles struck a children’s hospital in Kyiv and killed at least three people elsewhere in the Ukrainian capital Monday, authorities said, while another attack in the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih killed at least 10 people.
It was the biggest bombardment of Kyiv in several months. The daylight attacks included Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, one of the most advanced Russian weapons, the Ukrainian air force said. The Kinzhal flies at 10 times the speed of sound, making it hard to intercept. City buildings shook from the blasts.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia targeted five cities with more than 40 missiles of different types.
The attack struck Okhmatdyt children’s hospital in Kyiv, Ukraine’s biggest children’s medical facility. There was no immediate word on casualties there.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian forces launched multiple ballistic and cruise missiles against Ukrainian targets on Monday, Ukraine’s air force said, with explosions felt and heard across the capital, Kyiv.
The daylight attack included Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, one of the most advanced Russian weapons, the air force said. The Kinzhal flies at 10 times the speed of sound, making it hard to intercept. City buildings shook from the blasts.
The Kyiv city administration reported falling debris, presumably from intercepted missiles, in the Solomianskyi, Dniprovskyi, Holosiivskyi and Shevchenkivskyi districts of Kyiv, starting fires. Thick plumes of smoke rose from several Kyiv neighborhoods.
The head of Ukraine’s presidential office, Andrii Yermal, said the attack occurred at a time when many people were in the city’s streets.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said at least three people were injured and that official assessments of the attack's consequences were still being carried out. Ambulances were heading to the Solomianskyi district, he said, adding that a children's medical facility was hit.
The attack came on the eve of a three-day NATO summit in Washington, which will look at how to reassure Ukraine of the alliance’s unwavering support and offer Ukrainians hope that their country can come through Europe’s biggest conflict since World War II.
Explosions were also reported by local officials in Ukraine’s central Dnipropetrovsk region.
Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
Smoke rises over the Kyiv skyline after a Russian attack, Monday, July 8, 2024. Russian forces launched multiple ballistic and cruise missiles against Ukrainian targets on Monday, Ukraine’s air force said, with explosions felt and heard across the capital, Kyiv. (AP Photo/ Evgeniy Maloletka)
Smoke rises over the Kyiv skyline after a Russian attack, Monday, July 8, 2024. Russian forces launched multiple ballistic and cruise missiles against Ukrainian targets on Monday, Ukraine’s air force said, with explosions felt and heard across the capital, Kyiv. (AP Photo/ Evgeniy Maloletka)
Smoke rises over the Kyiv skyline after a Russian attack, Monday, July 8, 2024. Russian forces launched multiple ballistic and cruise missiles against Ukrainian targets on Monday, Ukraine’s air force said, with explosions felt and heard across the capital, Kyiv. (AP Photo/ Evgeniy Maloletka)
Smoke rises over the Kyiv skyline after a Russian attack, Monday, July 8, 2024. Russian forces launched multiple ballistic and cruise missiles against Ukrainian targets on Monday, Ukraine’s air force said, with explosions felt and heard across the capital, Kyiv. (AP Photo/ Evgeniy Maloletka)
Smoke rises over the Kyiv skyline after a Russian attack, Monday, July 8, 2024. Russian forces launched multiple ballistic and cruise missiles against Ukrainian targets on Monday, Ukraine’s air force said, with explosions felt and heard across the capital, Kyiv. (AP Photo/ Evgeniy Maloletka)
