Murder of Arlinda Zekaj: GLPS calls for accountability over institutional failure

The Kosovo-based Legal and Political Studies Group (GLPS) has reacted with outrage following the murder of Arlinda Zekaj, saying that the serious incident once again highlights the institutions’ ongoing inability to address domestic violence seriously.

According to GLPS, the fact that the prosecution and police were aware of the danger to Arlinda Zekaj’s life but failed to take measures to protect her constitutes a serious institutional failure.

“Protecting women’s lives is not a matter of willingness, a temporary priority or public statements, but a fundamental obligation of the state. When this obligation is not fulfilled, institutions must be held accountable and face the consequences, including criminal ones. No institutional failure should be relativized, covered up or left without consequences.”

The organization said that, based on its data on court hearings in cases of domestic and gender-based violence, 957 women victims of violence were recorded during the period from January to September 2026.

“These alarming figures demonstrate the troubling scale of violence against women and the urgency of an institutional response. These data cannot be treated simply as statistics, but as a serious signal that preventing violence and protecting women require immediate action. Preventing and addressing the killing of women is, and must be viewed as, a national emergency.”

GLPS called for the case to be fully investigated and for concrete responsibility to be established for the murder of Arlinda Zekaj, as well as for any institutional inaction that may have contributed to this tragedy.

“When institutions fail to guarantee the lives and safety of citizens, they fail to fulfill their most fundamental obligation and undermine citizens’ trust in the rule of law.”

Arlinda Zekaj was murdered last night in Vitomirica, Peja. Her brother-in-law is suspected of the murder and has been declared wanted by police. Meanwhile, the Basic Prosecution in Peja said today that the case had been handled in a timely manner and that all relevant institutions had been informed at the appropriate time.