Newly elected Ilaria Salis and Fredi Beleri could prove a thorn in the side of Hungary and Albania, as alleged political charges raise doubts about the rule of law in the two countries
ADVERTISING
Between the 720 MEPs elected this week there are two who perhaps will celebrate more than others, given that they are currently detained for alleged criminal activities.
Ilaria Salisof the Italian Left party, and Fredi Beleri, candidate of the Greek centre-right New Democracy party, will soon occupy the seats in Brussels and Strasbourg.
The judicial independence of Albania and Hungary is under discussion
Both seem destined to become a thorn in the side of the countries in which they were arrested: both Hungary and Albania must in fact face important issues of judicial independence. “We are very happy with the elections,” Salis’ father Roberto told Euronews. “I hope she is free as soon as possible.”
Ilaria was arrested in Hungary just over a year ago and is still awaiting trial on charges of attacking neo-Nazi extremists, a charge she has denied. After having achieved important success in two Italian regions, now is about to be released, based on the rules that guarantee immunity to European parliamentarians from judicial proceedings in other EU member states.
The procedures to guarantee her freedom could take four or five weeks, and he may need time to recover from his ordealthe father said, potentially jeopardizing his ability to participate in the opening proceedings of the new five-year term.
Difficult conditions of detention
Although she was released from prison to house arrest on May 23, the conditions of his detention were “very harsh”, added the father. Roberto Salis considers the arrest of the anti-fascist activist, in an EU member country that has taken a decidedly authoritarian and right-wing turn, as a “totally political action”.
The accusation of judicial bias also resonates in the case of Beleri, an Albanian politician of Greek ethnicity, convicted by exchange vote after being elected mayor of Himara, in southern Albania. “It’s a political arrest. There is no evidence, there is no evidence of any crime,” Marin Suli told Euronewsgeneral secretary of the Albanian party of Beleri.
“The rule of law does not exist, it is Rama’s rule,” Suli added, referring to Albania’s socialist prime minister. Beleri will not automatically be released, as Albania is outside the EUbut Suli hopes he can start attending sessions after his two-year sentence expires in September.
Beleri denied the charges and appealed. Suli says that, if necessary, he will present the case to the European Court of Human Rights.
Salis granted one hour of conversation per month, special permission for Beleri for the party meeting
His case has been taken into consideration by numerous MEPs. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis had threatened to block talks for Albania’s accession to the EU until the matter was resolved, before adding Beleri to his New Democracy party’s list. In a Facebook post on Monday, Beleri hailed his victory as part of the “battle for democracy” and “European values.”
“Light always wins over darkness. The power of democracy can sweep away any coup,” he declared. “I will work hard to be useful to my party, to New Democracy and above all to our homeland.” EU rules are aimed at protecting MEPs from political persecutionbut deputies are not totally immune from justice.
They can still be arrested if caught red-handed, as Belgian authorities say in the case of Eva Kaili, who however has denied wrongdoing in the cash-for-influence scandal known as Qatargate. Parliament can also decide to lift the immunity of an individual MEPas in the case of the Greek Ioannis Lagos, after his far-right Golden Dawn party was judged to be a criminal organization.
Technically, MEPs can hold their office even after conviction or imprisonment, but doing the job is not always logistically easy. During detention, Salis was only allowed one hour of interview time per month and was unable to conduct a conventional election campaign.
After the elections, Beleri had to participate in a first meeting of New Democracy deputies via videoconferenceafter obtaining special permission from Albanian anti-corruption authorities, Euronews Albania reported.
