The Basic Court in Pristina has found former Infrastructure Minister Pal Lekaj, his former political adviser Eset Berisha, former Secretary-General Nebih Shatri and former Director of Public Procurement Besim Tahiri guilty in the retrial of the case known as the “53-million case”.

Pal Lekaj was sentenced to 3 years and 8 months in prison, while being barred from exercising public functions in the administration or public service for 3 years and 6 months.

Eset Berisha was sentenced to 3 years and 3 months in prison, along with a 3-year ban on exercising public functions.

Nebih Shatri and Besim Tahiri were each sentenced to 1 year and 8 months in prison. For both of them, the court also imposed a 2-year ban on exercising public functions.

The retrial was held after the Court of Appeals annulled the Basic Court’s initial judgment, issued on January 31, 2024. In the initial proceedings, all four defendants were sentenced to a total of 10 years and 3 months in prison.

The case concerns an additional payment of 53.1 million euros to the “Bechtel & Enka” consortium following the extension of the deadline for completing work on the Pristina–Hani i Elezit motorway, known as the “Arbën Xhaferi” motorway.

According to the indictment filed on February 4, 2022, the Special Prosecution alleges that the defendants acted jointly and intentionally when allocating the funds. At the time, Lekaj was Infrastructure Minister, Berisha was his adviser, Shatri was Secretary-General, and Tahiri was Director of Public Procurement.

Following the decision, the Special Prosecution of the Republic of Kosovo said it welcomed the guilty verdict issued in the retrial as well.

The prosecuting institution assessed that the decision represents an important step toward strengthening the rule of law and ensuring accountability in cases of high-level corruption.

“The Special Prosecution reaffirms its commitment to fighting corruption and prosecuting all possible perpetrators,” the statement said.

The Basic Court’s decision is not final. The parties may challenge it by appealing to the Court of Appeals.

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The decision was made public on Wednesday by the trial panel comprising presiding judge Gent Beka and members Gazmend Bahtiri and Sulltane Hoti.

For the criminal offence of “Murder,” Krasniqi was sentenced to 22 years in prison after the offence was reclassified from “Aggravated Murder.” For unauthorized possession of a weapon, he was sentenced to two years and six months in prison. In the end, the court imposed a single sentence of 24 years in prison.

Parties dissatisfied with the verdict may file an appeal after receiving the decision in written form.

Prosecutor Menduhi Kastrati, the injured party and Krasniqi’s defence counsel, lawyer Ilir Ramaj, attended the announcement of the verdict. The defendant was not present.

Krasniqi had pleaded not guilty at the initial hearing held on July 15, 2025.

He was accused of the murder of F.Z., which occurred in August 2024 in Zllakuqan, Lipjan, following a dispute between children, reports “Betimi per Drejtesi.”

According to the indictment filed by the Basic Prosecution Office in Pristina on June 30, 2025, Skender Krasniqi was charged with acting on August 7, 2024, in the village of Zllakuqan in Lipjan, following a dispute that had occurred that same day between his son, minor T.K., and minor A.Z., the son of witness B.Z. The latter is the nephew of the late F.Z.

The dispute concerned the minors’ communications on the social media platform TikTok. According to the indictment, T.K. caused serious bodily injuries to A.Z. with a knife. When F.Z. returned from work and learned about the incident, he set off with witness I.Z. toward Skender Krasniqi’s home to find out and clarify what had happened.

The indictment alleges that witness I.Z. spoke with witness N.K., who asked him to leave, telling him that she did not know what had happened. The defendant then came out of the house and headed toward the yard gate, where F.Z. and witnesses I.Z. and F.K. were standing. Witness B.K. also approached them there.

After the conversation ended, F.Z. and I.Z. left the gate of Krasniqi’s home and headed toward the village road. According to the indictment, they saw minor T.K. coming out from the upper part of the yard. Angered, F.Z. and I.Z. headed toward him and entered the defendant’s yard, where an argument involving shouting began. T.K. was holding a knife, which he was asked to drop.

At one point, according to the indictment, witnesses N.K. and B.K. intervened, while the parties began to separate. I.Z. headed toward the road and F.Z. followed him. In those circumstances, it is alleged that Skender Krasniqi took the knife from minor T.K. and, with the intent to kill F.Z., stabbed him twice in succession, causing fatal injuries.

At around 1:02 p.m., F.Z. was taken to the Family Medicine Centre in the village of Magure, in the Municipality of Lipjan, showing no signs of life, where his death was confirmed.

In this case, Krasniqi was initially charged with the criminal offence of “Aggravated Murder,” under Article 173, paragraph 1, point 1.4 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kosovo.

Under the second count of the indictment, Skender Krasniqi was also charged with unauthorized possession of a knife, in violation of the applicable weapons law. According to the prosecution, this was the knife used to inflict fatal injuries on F.Z. In addition, three other knives were found and seized during a search of the defendant’s house and yard.

Under this count, he was charged with the criminal offence of “Unauthorized Ownership, Control or Possession of Weapons,” pursuant to Article 366, paragraph 2 in conjunction with paragraph 1.1 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kosovo.

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