Kosovo Police Director Gazmend Hoxha resigned amid mounting protests and calls for justice and institutional accountability following the latest femicide in Pejë, which exposed documented failures by the authorities to protect the victim before her murder.
The General Director of the Kosovo Police, Gazmend Hoxha, resigned on Friday, as protests demanding justice for Arlinda Zekaj, 49, murdered hours after reporting domestic violence, continue across Kosovo.
“The Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, accepted Gazmend Hoxha’s resignation today and relieved him of his duties as Director General of the Kosovo Police,” reads a Government statement.
Protesters and human rights activists have demanded the resignations of the country’s justice and interior ministers. Despite findings of a report submitted to the government on Thursday, identifying shortcomings, delays, and institutional inaction in the handling of Zekaj’s repeated requests for protection, Justice minister Donika Gërvalla and and Internal minister Xhelal Sveçla, in a joint press conference on Friday morning, rejected calls to step down.
Former Kosovo Police Director Gazmend Hoxha. Photo: BIRN
“This is not the moment for me to resign,” Gërvalla said, adding that she would not oppose stepping down if she considered that her resignation would contribute to better protections for women.
“Let us do our work, ensure that responsibility is correctly assigned and addressed, and then we can discuss the issue of resignations,” she said, adding that Zekaj’s murder “should not be politicised.”
In a similar vein, Interior minister Sveçla said “I do not believe our resignations would contribute to strengthening women’s rights or protecting them.”
The ministers presented the report prepared at the request of Prime Minister Albin Kurti. The report examines the institutional handling of the case of the 49-year-old woman who was murdered on October 25 in Vitomirice village of Peja. She was killed just moments after being escorted home from the police station where she had reported ex-husband Jeton Sylaj for domestic violence. Jeton Sylaj has been placed in custody for 30 days for violating a court order.
Justice minister Donika Gërvalla (L) and Internal minister Xhelal Sveçla (R), in a joint press conference on Friday morning, October 30, 2026. Photo: BIRN
Albert Sylaj, her former brother-in-law, is suspected of killing Zekaj with an axe as “retaliation” for reporting his brother, Jeton, to the police. He fled the scene but was arrested two days later and placed in a 30 day custody.
“The most troubling conclusion is that Arlinda Zekaj was not killed without warning,” Gervalla noted. “The responsible institutions had received repeated and serious warnings about the threat to her life,” she added.
While the ministers were holding a press conference inside, dozens of people were protesting outside demanding their resignation. A few activists and protesters attempted to enter the government building but were prevented by the police.
“Why didn’t you protect Arlinda the way you are protecting the government building?” protesters asked of the police officers.
Human rights activists push the Kosovo police in an attempt to enter the government building in Prishtina, October 30, 2026. Photo: BIRN
On Thursday, local media published a recording of Zekaj pleading with a police officer to help her, who responded with, “I don’t have to keep seeing you [when you come to the police station]… I am under no obligation to.”
The now deceased Zekaj is heard saying “I can die, it’s fine, but you will be held accountable.”
Three days before her death, on October 22, 2026, Zekaj had also sent a letter to Lumturije Vuçetaj, chief prosecutor at the Peja Basic Prosecution Office, requesting urgent action over alleged violations of a court decision concerning the custody of her son and her access to a property she had been granted the right to use jointly. In the letter, Zekaj warned that her life was in danger.
A protester holds the slogan “The state’s hands are bloody” referring to the institutional failure to protect women from fatal domestic violence, in Peja, October 30, 2026. Photo: Courtesy of a protester
Zekaj had also repeatedly called and notified local police and other institutions that the court decision was not being respected and that ‘she would be killed’. On October 22, Zekaj made a statement to the police claiming that Albert Sylaj had told her: “Go away or I’ll kill you.”
BIRN found that the prosecutor handling the case, Arlinda Nallbani Gacaferri, who is also Peja’s deputy chief prosecutor and coordinator for domestic violence cases, had questioned Albert Sylaj as a witness rather than a suspect over allegations that he had threatened Zekaj.
On Thursday, Vuçetaj and Nallbani Gacaferri were suspended by the Kosovo Prosecutorial Council.
A group of citizens protested in Peja, Arlinda Zekaj’s hometown, October 30, 2026. Photo: Courtesy of a protester
“As a result of the persistent negligence of Chief Prosecutor Lumturije Vuçetaj in handling the urgent requests of the injured party, fatal consequences ensued for now-deceased A.Z.,” reads the suspension decision of the Kosovo Prosecutorial Council.
Regarding Nallbani Gacaferri, the Prosecutorial Council concluded that she “…was aware of the urgency of her requests—specifically emphasizing that her life was under threat—was aware of all reports from the prosecutors who handled cases in which the deceased was an injured party, and was also informed of official police reports regarding the level of danger facing the deceased, A.Z.”
Kosovo Police also suspended 11 members of the police from the Peja/Pec region upon request of the Police Inspectorate, on Thursday. The suspended include the regional director, a police station commander, and the head of investigations.
Protesters against femicide in Prishtina hold the slogan “you will not be able to sleep, you will be in flames”, October 28, 2026. Photo: BIRN
On Friday, Sveçla also emphasised that authorities had identified 155 other high-risk cases currently being monitored by the Kosovo Police. “A separate report has been prepared to ensure these cases receive the necessary institutional attention,” he said.
Sveçla said he “understood the anger of protesters and supported their demands,” adding that “institutions were working to prevent similar cases.”
On Friday, citizens and civil society activists protested for the third day in a row in Prishtina. Activists from the Collective for Feminist Thought and Action called for protests to continue on Friday afternoon.
Parallel protests were also held in Peje and Mitrovica South on Friday.
In Peje, protesters gathered at the Police Station with calls for resignations, accountability and justice for murdered women.
A protest was also held in Ferizaj on Thursday.
Protest in Ferizaj, Kosovo, on October 29, 2026 against the femicide case. Photo: BIRN
Hundreds of people had already taken to the streets in Prishtina on Wednesday and Thursday, demanding justice for Zekaj, the resignations and imprisonment of responsible officials, and urgent measures to address femicide and gender-based violence.
Zekaj is the seventh woman to have been murdered by a family member in 2026 in Kosovo.
On October 9, Nafije Bogujevci and her brother Egzon Bogujevci were shot dead. Nafije Bogujevci ’s husband later turned himself in to the police in connection to the crime.
In August, Proshtina was also host to a march demanding justice for the victims of femicide and calling on authorities to treat gender-based violence in Kosovo as a national emergency. The protest followed the killings of two women within days of each other in August, both allegedly at the hands of their husbands. The first victim, a 25-year-old pregnant woman, was shot dead, while the second, aged 80, was beaten to death.