In Pristina, the retrial of Endrit Nika for the murder of his partner begins

The Basic Court in Pristina has today started the retrial of Endrit Nika, who is accused of murdering his partner, Maria Clara Urdangaray.

The case has been returned for review after the Court of Appeals’ decision, which deemed the defense’s appeal well-founded and overturned the first-instance verdict.

The Appeals Court judgment was drafted on July 30, 2026, and published on August 7.

Initially, on February 19, 2026, the Basic Court in Pristina had found Nika guilty of the criminal offense of “aggravated murder,” sentencing him to 18 years in prison.

The Appeals Court accepted as well-founded the appeal of lawyer Tomë Gashi, Nika’s defense attorney. Consequently, the judgment of the Serious Crimes Department dated February 19 was annulled, and the case was returned for retrial and reconsideration.

Meanwhile, the appeals of the Basic Prosecution in Pristina and the injured party’s representative regarding the sentence, according to reports that have published parts of the Appeals Court decision, have for the moment been deemed irrelevant for consideration.

According to the indictment, on August 1, 2023, after a conflict with Maria Clara Urdangaray, Nika is suspected of initially assaulting her in the parking lot of the “Sonoma” hotel in Fushë Kosovë. The altercation then allegedly continued in the hotel room.

The prosecution states that Urdangaray was pushed and struck until she ended up in the corner of the room, with no possibility of escape. Then, according to the accusation, the window frame was removed and she fell from the sixth floor.

As a result of the fall, Maria Clara Urdangaray sustained severe injuries. She received medical treatment but later died at the University Clinical Center of Kosovo (QKUK).