KPK suspends Peja chief prosecutor Lumturije Vuçetaj and prosecutor Arlinda Nallbani-Gacaferri

The Kosovo Prosecutorial Council (KPC) decided on Thursday to suspend Lumturije Vuçetaj from her post as chief prosecutor of the Basic Prosecution Office in Peja. The decision was made at an extraordinary meeting called after Arlinda Zekaj was killed in Vitomiricë, Peja.

Sources told “Betimi për Drejtësi” that seven KPC members voted in favor of suspending Vuçetaj. The measure followed a recommendation by State Chief Prosecutor Zejnullah Gashi. The Council also set up an investigative panel, and disciplinary proceedings against Vuçetaj are expected to begin.

Prosecutor Arlinda Nallbani-Gacaferri was also suspended at the same meeting. She had handled Zekaj’s case and served as coordinator for domestic violence cases. An investigative panel has also been established to examine her conduct.

The meeting was held behind closed doors, without the media present. Members reviewed a report on the work of the Basic Prosecution Office in Peja in handling the case.

The suspensions do not constitute a finding that the prosecutors are responsible. The investigative panels will examine whether they breached their legal obligations.

Gashi had recommended the suspensions

Before the meeting, Chief Prosecutor Gashi told Telegrafi that he had initiated disciplinary proceedings and proposed suspending the two prosecutors. According to reports, the proceedings are related to findings by the Office of the State Chief Prosecutor concerning alleged actions and omissions in handling the case.

Earlier, Gashi had decided that the investigation into Arlinda Zekaj’s killing would be conducted by the Basic Prosecution Office in Prishtina after being transferred from Peja.

Zekaj had asked the KPC for help

Before she was killed, Arlinda Zekaj sent a letter to the Kosovo Prosecutorial Council asking for help. The KPC later forwarded it to the chief prosecutor in Peja.

Zekaj had reported her former husband, Jeton Sylaj, for domestic violence and warned justice institutions that she was in danger. At the time, she was also involved in proceedings over custody of her son.

On September 17, 2026, she also filed a complaint with the president of the Basic Court in Peja. She alleged that the judge handling the case had issued a decision contrary to the law and outside the prescribed deadlines. Inspectors from the Kosovo Judicial Council have now obtained the ruling on the protection order, which also stipulated that she share a house with her former husband.

Suspect to be held in pretrial detention for one month

Arlinda Zekaj, 49, was killed on October 25, 2026, in Vitomiricë. Her former brother-in-law, Albert Sylaj, is suspected of the killing. He was apprehended on Tuesday evening in Deçan after several days on the run.

The Basic Court in Peja ordered Sylaj held in pretrial detention for one month on suspicion of “aggravated murder.” Information from the hearing indicates that he claimed he had acted in the heat of the moment. He surrendered after negotiations with the Police, conducted through his mother.

Police and the Social Work Center also under review

The investigation is not limited to the prosecution; it also covers other institutions that had been in contact with the victim.

The Kosovo Police Inspectorate (IPK) has launched investigative actions concerning the Police’s handling of Zekaj’s reports. The move followed the release of recordings of a conversation she had, several days before her killing, with Faruk Muqolli, a police lieutenant in Peja.

Andin Hoti, Minister of Labor, Family and the Values of the Liberation War, has confirmed that inspections have begun at the Social Work Center in Peja.

The killing has prompted strong reactions in Kosovo. Protests against the killing of women have been held in Prishtina and Ferizaj, with participants demanding that institutions be held to account and take responsibility.