Haxhiu urges officials to testify before commission in Zekaj case

Kosovo Assembly Speaker Albulena Haxhiu called on all officials invited to testify about the murder of Arlinda Zekaj to respond to requests from the parliamentary inquiry commission.

Haxhiu spoke after a meeting of the Assembly presidency, while the commission was holding its first meeting. She said that, as Assembly speaker, she would be fully available to support the commission’s work and address its requests.

According to Haxhiu, the actions and failures to act in this case should be investigated by prosecutors, with the involvement of the Special Prosecution. She described the inquiry commission as an additional mechanism that, upon completing its work, would prepare a document to send to the responsible prosecutor’s office.

Haxhiu said it was concerning that the Kosovo Judicial Council had not yet suspended any officials. She also raised concerns about the municipality of Peja’s failure to act, saying that Mayor Gazmend Muhaxheri and the relevant welfare department, which oversees the QPS, had not submitted a report on measures taken against the officials responsible.

Meanwhile, Haxhiu welcomed the suspension of Peja’s chief prosecutor, her deputy and 11 police officers.

The parliamentary inquiry commission into the murder of Arlinda Zekaj was established today. Its chair, Burim Ramadani, said its work would proceed in three phases: investigation and evidence gathering, evaluation of the investigations, and preparation of the final report.

Arlinda Zekaj was killed on October 25 in Vitomiricë, Peja, by her brother-in-law. In connection with the case, 11 police officers, as well as Peja’s chief prosecutor and another prosecutor, have been suspended. Kosovo Police Director Gazmend Hoxha has resigned.