The Parliamentary Inquiry Committee investigating institutional actions and failures related to the murder of Arlinda Zekaj and the handling of violence against children and women in the family held its latest meeting today.
Following a discussion among committee members, the meeting continued behind closed doors.
The meeting follows Friday’s session, during which members also discussed the failure to submit reports requested from the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Committee Chair Burim Ramadani said the Office of the Prime Minister had delivered the reports from the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Internal Affairs to the committee today, marking the beginning of institutional cooperation on the actions to be taken in the Arlinda Zekaj case.
Eman Rrahmani of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) said the Office of the Prime Minister was, in his view, attempting to cover up institutional shortcomings in protecting Arlinda Zekaj.
“The situation is such that the involvement of the Office of the Prime Minister, instead of helping this committee uncover the entire chain of failures, is becoming an obstacle and manipulating the process. I believe the approach of this parliamentary group, in general, is aimed at covering up shortcomings and preventing the exposure of the state’s failure to protect a woman’s life,” he said.
Committee Chair Burim Ramadani assured the media that the process would be fully transparent.
“We have had opposing positions; we have disagreed, and each of us has come out and spoken. That is something no one is hiding,” Ramadani said.
It was decided that the committee meeting would continue without media representatives present.
The agenda includes amendments to the Work Plan and activity calendar, the preliminary drafting of a list of documents to be requested from relevant institutions, and approval of the committee’s budget.
The Parliamentary Inquiry Committee was established by the Kosovo Assembly on October 29 and has a maximum mandate of six months. It will investigate institutional actions and failures in connection with the case of Arlinda Zekaj, who was killed on October 25 in Vitomirica, Peja, as well as examine how institutions have handled domestic violence cases.
