Prishtina Basic Court on Tuesday sentenced Naim Murseli to life imprisonment for organising the murder of his wife, Liridona Ademaj.

Another man, Granit Plava, was also sentenced to life imprisonment for carrying out the murder in 2023, and a third, Kushtrim Kokalla, was handed a 30-year prison sentence for aiding and abetting the crime.

After the verdict, which can be appealed, Ademaj’s brother told media that it had “eased our [family’s] pain a little”.

“It was a decision all the Albanian people awaited, not just us, the family,” he said. “This decision today is not only for us, but for Liridona and her children who will never see their mother again.”

Thirty-year-old Ademaj was killed on the evening of November 29, 2023 in the village of Bernica/Brnjica near Pristina. The incident was initially reported as a “robbery with fatal consequences”.

However, the case took a dramatic turn two days later when Kosovo Police arrested two suspects, including Ademaj’s husband, Murseli, for suspected involvement in the murder.

According to the indictment, a few hours before Ademaj was killed, Murseli had met with Kokalla, a member of the Kosovo Security Force, telling him, “this work must be done today,” alluding to Ademaj’s murder.

Kokalla did not commit the murder himself but introduced Murseli to Plava, who shot Ademaj in a staged robbery.

The court heard that on the night of the crime, Murseli signalled to Plava with his car’s headlights before grabbing Ademaj’s arm to prevent her from dodging the bullet. After the shooting, Murseli reportedly exited the car with their children and fled the scene.

According to court documents obtained by BIRN, Murseli allegedly planned the murder to claim his wife’s life insurance, which was valued at 3 million Swedish krona (approximately 279,000 euros, at today’s conversion rate).

In the initial hearing on January 31, 2025, Murseli pleaded not guilty. Kokalla did not enter a plea, but later in the trial during questioning by his lawyer claimed not to be involved in committing the crimes charged by the prosecution. Plava chose not to testify.

A fourth man, Tom Dodaj, was separately convicted in December 2025 of selling the weapon that was used to kill Ademaj. Dodaj, who pleaded guilty in the initial hearing, was sentenced to five years in prison and fined 5,000 euros.