Ethnic Greek politician jailed in Albania arrives in Athens en route to European Parliament opening

A jailed member of Albania’s ethnic Greek minority — recently elected to the European Parliament with Greece’s governing conservative party — has arrived in Athens en route to Strasbourg, after being granted a five-day leave from prison to attend parliament’s opening session. A dual Greek-Albanian citizen, 51-year-old Fredis Beleris is serving a two-year prison sentence in Albania for vote-buying in last year's municipal elections in Albania – a candidate to join the European Union. He denies the charges, and Greece has described the case against him as being politically motivated. Beleris was to meet with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis before flying to Strasbourg Monday afternoon.