Kosovo: Outrage as authorities accused of not helping femicide victim

Despite reporting her husband to the police and pleading for protection, Arlinda Zekaj was brutally murdered. Now, thousands in Kosovo are protesting what they say is a dramatic failure of state institutions. On October 25, the 49-year-old once again reported her husband to the police. This time, he was arrested. But Zekaj also asked the police for additional protection — this time against her husband's family.

But to no avail. The police drove Arlinda Zekaj home. Her killer was waiting. At 8:58 p.m., Zekaj got out of the squad car. A short time later, the police received an emergency call.

When officers arrived at Zekaj's house at 9:10 p.m., they found only her body. The 49-year-old had been brutally murdered in her bedroom with an axe. By that time, the alleged perpetrator — her brother-in-law, Albert Sylaj — had fled. The murder, which took place in the village of Vitomirica, near the city of Peja in western Kosovo, has sparked numerous public protests and demonstrations involving thousands of people across the country.