Gërvalla: The Center for Social Work in Peja did not consider returning Arlinda to the shared home its responsibility and failed to submit the report on time

Justice Minister Donika Gërvalla said the report on the Center for Social Work in Peja shows that, although the institution was in contact with Arlinda Zekaj, it did not consider it its responsibility to create the conditions for her return to the shared home.

“The Center for Social Work was in regular contact with Arlinda Zekaj from July to October. However, according to the report, it did not consider creating the conditions for Arlinda Zekaj to return to the shared home its responsibility. The Center also failed to submit the requested report to the court by the deadline. Moreover, its representative did not appear at the October 5 hearing, while the report was still missing, contributing to a further postponement of the hearing. A representative of the Office for Victim Protection and Assistance said that she had asked the responsible official, Durim Kelmendi, for the official report every day, but to no avail,” Gërvalla said.

She added that the clinical psychologist’s assessment includes information that contradicts the claim made publicly so far that the child did not want to stay with her mother.

“To protect privacy, I will not provide details today,” Gërvalla said.