The Basic Prosecution in Peja/Pec confirmed that Zekaj, 30, was killed on October 25, 2026, shortly after she was taken home by police following a domestic violence complaint. Kosovo police said they received the report at about 7 p.m., interviewed Zekaj and arrested her ex-husband, placing him in 48-hour detention. The victim was then taken to her home in the village of Vitomirica voluntarily, according to a police statement. At around 9:10 p.m., police said they were notified that she had been found dead.
Zekaj's lawyer, Adelina Shala, contradicted the police account on Monday, writing on Facebook that "it wasn't the victim's will" to return home. On Sunday evening, Shala accused Kosovo authorities of failing to protect her client, writing that "the state killed Arlinda".
Three days before her death, on October 22, Zekaj had written a letter to Lumturije Vucetaj, chief prosecutor of the Peja Basic Prosecution office, calling for urgent action against officials she accused of failing to protect her from domestic violence. "I hope the day never comes when you and the responsible institutions are forced to account for your actions only after my life has been taken," she wrote.
The prosecutor's office in Peja/Pec stated late Sunday that Vucetaj had ordered Zekaj's letter to be registered for examination by the competent prosecutor, including "an assessment of potential criminal liability for abuse of official position or authority".
Kosovo's Chief State Prosecutor requested a detailed report and review on Monday to determine "whether there were institutional or individual failures" and how the victim's letter was handled.
President Justina Shiroka Pula called for "an urgent, comprehensive and impartial investigation. It must be clarified whether all necessary measures were taken to assess the risk and protect her."
Activist groups responded swiftly. The Collective for Feminist Thought and Action called for a nationwide protest on Wednesday, "as an act of revolt and a final call to protect women's lives". The Kosovo Women's Network (KWN) said the case was "particularly concerning given the challenges (Zekaj) had faced regarding custody and contact with her child, as well as the concerns raised about the institutional handling of her case".
Zekaj is the seventh woman murdered by a family member in Kosovo in 2026. In recent months, two women were killed in late August, one aged 25 and pregnant, the other 80. On October 9, Nafije Bogujevci and her brother Egzon Bogujevci were shot dead; Nafije's husband later turned himself in. Dozens marched through Pristina in late August demanding justice for victims of femicide and calling on authorities to treat gender-based violence as a national emergency.