The murder of Arlinda Zekaj has shocked the public and once again sparked discussions about how institutions handle cases of domestic violence. She is the eighth woman killed by family members this year in Kosovo and the 67th victim of this kind since 2010.
Zekaj had repeatedly sought help and protection from Kosovo’s institutions, reporting domestic violence and threats from her husband, from whom she had separated. On October 25, 2026, however, she was killed in Vitomirica, Peja, just minutes after returning to the shared home accompanied by the Police.
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The incident has raised questions about the institutions’ response, the steps taken to protect her, and whether faster and more effective intervention could have prevented the murder.
Following the murder, calls grew for institutional responsibility to be established. The Assembly of Kosovo formed a Parliamentary Investigative Committee to examine the actions and inactions of the responsible institutions.
The committee was approved with 90 votes in favor. It has 11 members and a mandate of up to six months. Burim Ramadani was elected to head it, while Adnan Rrustemi was appointed deputy chair.
The committee will investigate institutional responsibility in the case of Arlinda Zekaj and will also examine how violence against women and children in families is handled.
One of the main questions the investigation is expected to answer is whether Zekaj’s murder could have been prevented if the institutions had acted in time. The committee aims to determine specific responsibilities and propose steps to prevent similar cases. At the conclusion of its work, its report will be submitted to the Assembly.
Rexhepi: Laws are not being implemented sufficiently, while sentencing policies toward abusers are lenient
Emilija Rexhepi, a member of the Assembly of Kosovo and of the Investigative Committee for the case, told “Bota sot” that violence against women is a serious social problem, also linked to the patriarchal mentality.
She said that the parliamentary investigation would begin with the Center for Social Work and the Police. It would then examine the role of domestic violence protection coordinators, prosecutors and judges in order to identify institutional responsibilities.
According to Rexhepi, not enough time has yet passed to determine where the system failed. She described inadequate implementation of the law and overly lenient sentencing policies toward abusers as the main problems in Kosovo.
“Violence against women is a serious issue for society as a whole, not only for institutions. Patriarchal patterns continue to be present. Men must accept that women have an equal right to make decisions for themselves and determine how they will live their lives. No one can deny them this freedom, least of all by using violence.
Regarding the work of the Parliamentary Investigative Committee, some members of parliament believe that the investigation into responsibility should begin with the Government and move down to the lower levels of institutions. I take a different approach: the investigation should begin at the bottom and move upward. First, the work of the Center for Social Work should be examined, followed by that of the Police, which is the first institution at the scene, and then that of the domestic violence protection coordinators, prosecutors and judges, up to the highest levels.
This approach may help us understand more precisely who acted, when and in what way, whether the institutions responded in time and whether there were oversights. We have asked the relevant institutions to prepare and submit every document they have concerning Arlinda Zekaj’s case. We have also issued a call for experts to assist in this process.
The investigation is still in its early stages, so it would not be responsible for me to say in advance which part of the system failed or what needs to change. The committee’s duty is to examine the documents, facts and testimony of the responsible individuals, determine what happened and propose measures.
I believe Kosovo has a good legal framework for preventing domestic violence and protecting women; I myself also took part in drafting it. The greatest difficulty is the inadequate implementation of the laws in practice. Equally concerning is the sentencing policy, which, in my assessment, is far too lenient toward abusers and perpetrators of murders,” said MP Rexhepi.
Rexhepi called on institutions to engage more seriously in preventing violence against women, implement protective measures and invest more in educating younger generations about equality and mutual respect.
She stressed that women must be protected while they are alive, rather than justice being sought only after they have been killed.
“The high number of women killed in recent years and the three cases recorded in October alone compel us to take more seriously the assessment of risk, the proper implementation of protective measures and the determination of the responsibility of every institution tasked with protecting victims of violence.
We must also increase investment in the education and schooling of young people. This work begins in the family, where parents often discriminate between boys and girls, continues in the environment where we live and in primary and secondary schools, and also includes the employment of women in institutions. Children must be raised with mutual respect, equality and peaceful conflict resolution, as well as with the belief that no one has the right to control another person’s life.
My message is this: women need protection while they are alive, not justice only after a man takes their lives,” she concluded.
Berisha: Several institutions should have been responsible for protecting Arlinda and her child
Adelina Berisha of the Kosovo Women’s Network told “Bota sot” that in the case of Arlinda Zekaj, it was not just one link that failed, but several institutions with specific duties to protect the victim and the child.
According to her, the Center for Social Work must explain how the child was interviewed; the Prosecution, how the case was handled; the Court, what protective measure it imposed; and the Police, how it assessed and managed the risk.
Berisha stressed that every institution must account for its actions or inactions. The protection of the victim, she added, must not be a formality, but must provide genuine protection.
“In this case, responsibility does not rest with just one link. Several institutions had clear duties to protect the victim and the child, but they failed.
The Center for Social Work must clarify how it interviewed the child and why it did not comply with the legal provisions that establish how children should be interviewed and protected in cases of domestic violence. Interviewing is not a formal act. The way a child’s statement is taken and what the child says is assessed can directly affect the evaluation of the risk and the child’s protection.
The Prosecution bears responsibility for handling the case. If the domestic violence case and the information about the risk were not handled in accordance with legal requirements, this constitutes a serious institutional failure. The Prosecution must not be satisfied with formal processing, but must ensure that the necessary legal actions are carried out in time, especially when there are signs that the situation is worsening and the victim’s life is at risk.
The Court must also account for the measure it approved. When a victim faces danger, it is extremely concerning for a protection order to set a distance of only two meters between her and the person against whom the measure was imposed. Such an order must provide real safety, not merely be a decision that fulfills a procedure.
The Police have a direct duty to assess the risk. This assessment must not be a form that is filled out and then archived. It must indicate the level of risk, the measures that need to be taken and the urgency of the protection. Signs of escalating violence, threats, violations of protective measures and other risk factors must directly determine the level of protection.
Therefore, each link must be held accountable: the Center for Social Work for its handling of the child, the Prosecution for how it handled the case, the Court for the protective measure it approved, and the Police for assessing and managing the risk,” she said.
Berisha said that preventing such cases requires improving risk assessment, institutional accountability, and the genuine monitoring and implementation of protection orders.
She stressed that the danger facing victims must be treated as a threat to life, not as an administrative matter.
“The way risk is assessed must change. It must be adapted to developments and reviewed whenever new information emerges, while changes must lead to concrete protective measures.
In addition, every institution must bear responsibility. If a police officer fails to assess the risk properly, the Prosecution does not handle the case in accordance with the law, the Court imposes a measure that does not guarantee real safety, or the Center for Social Work fails to follow procedures for handling the child, it is not enough to say that ‘the system failed.’ It must be determined who failed to fulfill the duty, why this happened and what measures will be taken to prevent it from happening again.
Protection orders must be monitored and implemented in practice. A victim cannot be left alone with a court decision and the expectation that the violent person will respect it.
Above all, institutions must view the risk as a threat to life, not as an administrative procedure.
The eighth case must not become another figure in the statistics of murdered women. It must serve as an alarm for every institution that had the opportunity to intervene,” she concluded.
