The criminal case against Kreshnik Haliti will be tried again for the third time after the Court of Appeals upheld the defense’s appeal and annulled the judgment against him.

Haliti is accused of killing his friend M.Z. on March 6, 2017, on “Myrvete Maksutaj” Street in Peja, over a debt of €77,000.

The case files show that, during the second retrial, the Basic Court in Peja found Haliti guilty on December 1, 2025, and imposed an aggregate sentence of 19 years in prison.

The judgment was also challenged by the Basic Prosecution Office in Peja. Its appeal was based on claims of violations of the Criminal Code, the decision on the criminal sanction, and the section concerning procedural costs.

The Prosecution had asked the Court of Appeals to amend the Basic Court’s decision, find Haliti guilty of the criminal offense of “Aggravated Murder,” and impose a harsher sentence. Alternatively, based on the aggravating circumstances, it requested a sentence of 20 years in prison.

Regarding procedural costs, the Prosecution had proposed that they be determined precisely and presented in detail.

Attorney Gëzim Kollçaku, acting as the authorized representative of the injured party, had also appealed the sentencing decision. He likewise asked the Court of Appeals to amend the judgment and impose a harsher sentence on the defendant.

Meanwhile, Haliti’s defense attorney, Nushe Kuka-Mekaj, had appealed the decision on the grounds of substantial violations of criminal procedure provisions, violations of the Criminal Code, an erroneous and incomplete determination of the facts, and the sentencing decision.

Kuka-Mekaj had requested that the criminal offense be reclassified as “Murder Committed in a State of Severe Mental Distress” or that her client receive a more lenient sentence. If the judgment was not amended, the defense proposed that proceedings be opened before the Court of Appeals.

In a written submission, the Appellate Prosecution Office proposed that the appeals of the Basic Prosecution Office and the injured party be upheld, while the defense’s appeal be rejected.

Findings of the Court of Appeals

In its decision drafted on April 7, 2026, the Court of Appeals found that the Basic Court’s judgment contained substantial violations of criminal procedure provisions because it largely lacked clear reasoning concerning the decisive facts.

According to the second-instance court, the key facts in the case had been described extensively, but the witnesses’ testimony had not been properly analyzed.

“Such a generalized assessment is insufficient and unacceptable,” the Court of Appeals’ decision states.

The Court of Appeals also noted that the Basic Court had failed to assess contradictory evidence. This included discrepancies between expert evaluations addressing the defendant’s mental state.

The Court of Appeals did not examine the other claims raised in the appeals because it concluded that the first-instance judgment was marred by substantial violations of criminal procedure and therefore had to be annulled.

At the retrial, according to the Court of Appeals’ instructions, the Basic Court must act in accordance with the observations provided, remedy the substantial procedural violations, and draft the judgment in compliance with legal requirements.

The Basic Court was instructed to hear all the evidence again and, depending on the course of the proceedings, potentially obtain additional evidence that may be relevant to determining the facts.

The decision also requires that the retrial properly and clearly establish Haliti’s mental and psychological condition at the time the acts were committed. Since two expert evaluations reached opposing conclusions, the Court of Appeals also requested that a super-expert evaluation be ordered.

The Court of Appeals’ decision was issued by a judicial panel composed of presiding judge Skender Çoçaj and members Mentor Hajra and Arben Hoti.

In the initial trial, on July 4, 2018, the Basic Court in Peja found Kreshnik Haliti guilty and sentenced him to an aggregate term of 22 years and six months in prison.

That judgment was later annulled by the Court of Appeals on the grounds that it contained violations of criminal procedure and that the facts had not been fully established.

In the subsequent retrial, on October 31, 2023, the Basic Court in Peja imposed an aggregate sentence of 20 years and six months in prison on Haliti for the criminal offense of “Murder.”

However, on March 18, 2024, the Court of Appeals again sent the case back for retrial, upholding the appeals filed by the Basic Prosecution Office in Peja and Haliti’s defense attorney, Besnik Berisha.

In the second retrial, in its decision of December 12, 2025, the Basic Court sentenced the defendant to an aggregate term of 19 years in prison.

The post Case of Man Accused of Killing Friend Over €77,000 Debt Sent for Retrial for the Third Time appeared first on Albeu.com.

Arlind Ahmeti and Agron Vllasaliu have each been sentenced to 17 years in prison in the fourth retrial over the murder of N.S., which occurred in central Pristina in November 2017. In the third retrial, the Basic Court in Pristina had sentenced them to 16 years in prison each.

The decision was announced on Tuesday by the trial panel comprising Judge Ilir Foniqi and members Fatime Dermaku and Ertan Sejfulla, “Betimi për Drejtësi” reports.

Judge Foniqi announced that Ahmeti and Vllasaliu were found guilty of the criminal offense of “aggravated murder committed jointly with eventual intent,” for which each was sentenced to 15 years in prison. For the offense of “unauthorized possession of weapons,” they were each sentenced to two and a half years in prison, while the aggregate sentence for each was set at 17 years’ imprisonment.

The two defendants’ detention on remand has been extended.

Those present at the sentencing hearing included attorney Driton Musliu, Vllasaliu’s defense counsel; attorney Asdren Hoxha, Ahmeti’s defense counsel; and the injured party, Shemsie Aliu-Sahiti. The two defendants followed the proceedings from prison via video link.

The injured party was instructed to pursue her claim through regular civil proceedings.

The parties that disagree with the judgment may file an appeal within 30 days of receiving the written decision.

The case’s judicial history began with the Basic Court in Pristina’s decision of April 16, 2019. After reclassifying the criminal offense, the court found Arlind Ahmeti guilty of incitement to aggravated murder and imposed an aggregate sentence of 17 years in prison. At the time, Agron Vllasaliu was at large.

In November 2019, the Court of Appeals decided to remand the case to the first-instance court for a new trial, finding that the judgment of April 16, 2019, was contrary to legal provisions.

The Basic Court in Pristina issued another guilty verdict on December 13, 2022. Agron Vllasaliu and Arlind Ahmeti were each sentenced at that time to 21 years in prison for jointly committing the aggravated murder of the late N.S. in Pristina in 2017.

Following appeals by attorney Nexhmedin Sejdiu, representing the injured parties; Arlind Ahmeti’s defense attorneys, Asdren Hoxha and Fitim Malokaj; and Agron Vllasaliu’s defense attorney, Florent Latifaj, the Court of Appeals overturned the Basic Court in Pristina’s judgment on March 23, 2023. The case was again remanded to the first-instance court for retrial.

On October 11, 2024, the Basic Court reclassified the criminal offense as “causing general danger” and sentenced Ahmeti and Vllasaliu to 16 years in prison each. However, the Court of Appeals again remanded the case for retrial.

In the third retrial, on October 20, 2025, the two defendants were again given aggregate sentences of 16 years in prison each. The Basic Court reclassified the offense from “aggravated murder” to “causing general danger” and sentenced each of them to 12 years in prison for that offense. For “unauthorized possession of weapons,” each received a sentence of four years and six months in prison.

This decision was also overturned by the Court of Appeals on April 17, 2026. Granting the appeal filed by the Basic Prosecution Office in Pristina, the Court of Appeals remanded the case to the first-instance court for retrial.

The indictment filed on July 13, 2021, states that on November 24, 2017, Agron Vllasaliu, acting on the basis of a prior agreement with defendant Arlind Ahmeti, took the life of N.S. and endangered the lives of Behar Sahiti, Lumbardh Kukaj, Freskim Farizi, R.K. and Mërgim Kqiku.

The post Fourth Retrial Over Murder in Central Pristina: Ahmeti and Vllasaliu Sentenced to 17 Years Each appeared first on Albeu.com.