Beat her on the body, not the face, so it wouldn’t show” / The account of the woman whose ex-husband killed her two brothers

N.N., whose two brothers were killed by her ex-husband a year ago, has spoken publicly for the first time about the abuse and threats she endured. In an exclusive interview with the “Debat Plus” program, she recounted the incident and the aftermath of the brutal killing.

The interview took place in Gjakova, at the woman’s home. She also spoke about her appeals to the authorities, calling for justice.

She said that throughout their 20-year marriage, she had faced ongoing abuse. According to her, her father-in-law encouraged his son, her ex-husband, to abuse her.

“My mother-in-law was also abused by her husband, so violence was present throughout the family… When my father-in-law urged his son to beat me, he would say: ‘Beat your wife where it won’t show—not on the face, but on the body, where the marks won’t be visible,’” she said.

She added that the abuse was a daily occurrence: “Every evening, nothing else happened here but violence; the children and women were beaten. As soon as the men came home from work, my father-in-law would egg his sons on, telling them that their wives were making noise with the children and that they should beat their wives.”