Justice for Arlinda Zekaj: Today’s protest brings six demands for institutions

Another protest for Arlinda Zekaj, who was brutally murdered in Peja, will begin on Saturday at 12:00 in the square near the Mother Teresa Cathedral in Pristina. Organizers are inviting people from all cities to join the march, which will demand justice and institutional accountability.

The Collective for Feminist Thought and Action has described Saturday’s protest as nationwide. Alongside justice for Arlinda, the mobilization aims to have the state recognize femicide as a national emergency.

The six demands made public by the organizers include the removal from office, prosecution and imprisonment of officials who, they say, failed to fulfill their duties in handling Arlinda Zekaj’s case.

They are also calling for Donika Gërvalla to be dismissed as minister of justice and Xhelal Sveçla to be dismissed as head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, as well as for Gazmend Muhaxheri, the mayor of Peja, to resign. Both ministers have rejected earlier calls to resign.

The organizers’ demands also include declaring the killings of women a national emergency, providing social housing for survivors of domestic violence, conducting an independent, nonpartisan vetting process in the justice system, and making self-defense spray legal for women.

In its appeal for people to take part, the Collective for Feminist Thought and Action says Arlinda’s murder has exposed failures across institutions. According to the collective, women who turn to institutions for help remain exposed to danger instead of receiving protection.

For the collective, the murder and the state’s response have plunged society into crisis and insecurity. Its appeal stresses that this situation can be overcome only if the state takes responsibility and guarantees that women’s lives are treated with the seriousness they deserve.

The organizers describe the demand for accountability as a duty left to them by Arlinda Zekaj. They emphasize that they are pursuing this commitment not only for her and every woman who has been killed, but also for all girls and women who are alive.

In the collective’s assessment, Arlinda’s case has shaken the foundations of state patriarchy. For that reason, it calls on people not to stop mobilizing until the fight against violence against women is over.

Arlinda Zekaj was killed with an axe inside her home in Peja. Her former brother-in-law is suspected of the murder.

Before she was killed, she had sent several letters to justice institutions seeking protection and informing them that her life was under threat. Those warnings, however, were not followed by the action needed to prevent the tragedy.

The murder prompted widespread public reaction and brought people out to protest in several cities across Kosovo. They demanded justice for Arlinda and accountability from institutions.

Several officials have been suspended following the case, but the organizers do not consider those measures sufficient. They want accountability to extend to the highest levels of the justice institutions.