Séle justice investigates her negligence that led to a woman's murder

The Constitution found a series of violations in handling this case. Controversial violations cast responsibility on Kosovo Police, the Police Station in Gracanica and the Pristina Constitutional Prosecutor respectively, for failing to meet their positive obligations in protecting Sebahate's life.

A report drafted by the Kosovo Institute for Justice (IKD) in co-operation with the Kosovo Women's Network (RRGK) had been listed.

“A Constitutional Court ruling stating that a Kosovo citizen has been violated by the right to life and at the same time that the Standards of the Istanbul Convention have been violated means it is unacceptable to have no institutional response after such a significant decision”, says Rezniqi from the Kosovo Institute for Justice (IKD), the organisation that drafted the constitutional requirement on behalf of Sebaha's children.

Rezniqi says the Constitutional decision in this case is of particular importance after serving security and justice institutions, not to repeat the same mistakes as in the Sebahate case that ended in murder.

Under this decision now all institutions need to know which actions they dare not take in other cases, and this automatically has a direct impact on changing the bad practice created so far in the inadequate treatment of cases of domestic violence”, it estimates.

The Constitution found that police and the prosecution have been able to take additional steps in the defence of Sebahate.

Shortly after the assassination through a public reaction, Pristina's Constitutional Prosecutorship had said among other things that during the interview, Sebahatja had declared that “was not interested in continuing with the case”.

However, this statement, according to the Kosovo Constitutional Court's ruling, does not free the prosecution in the company of additional steps in protecting the victim.

The “does not free any state institutions from the obligation to undertake all necessary measures defined by legislation and applicable regulations in defense of domestic violence victim”, the Constitutional announcement said.

The lack of institutional reaction in this case has not even commented on the Kosovo Ministry of Justice.

Negligence, unchanged habit

In the Kosovo Women's Network organisation (RRGK) stress that the state's failure to protect women's lives in Kosovo is a recurring phenomenon.

Besarta Breznica from the Kosovo Women's Network says the state is constantly failing to protect women who are endangered by their husbands.

The Constitutional Court's ruling on Sebahate's case, according to her, implies dismissals and penalties for neglect of all officials who have been in charge of the case.

“Institutions should be highlighted and required downloads and persons who have had it in treatment of Mrs. Sebahate Morina subject to be automatically downloaded from their positions. These officials are dangerous to stay in their jobs because there may be successive violations of”, Breznica says.

Bremnica says that cases of domestic violence are consistently rare when treated with seriousness and conform legal deposits to the end.

The failure, according to her, is chain after police often fail, the Centres for Social Work fail, the prosecution fails to qualify subjects, as well as the courts finally issue low sentences.

Sebahate's case is not the only one when, according to lawyers, the state has failed to provide adequate assistance in protecting domestic violence victims.

On November 30th last year, a similar case occurred in the courtyard of the University Clinical Centre of Kosovo, where a 35-year-old woman was killed by her husband despite the fact that the victim had a police defense order.

The murder shocked public opinion as the victim, Hamide Magashi, was on her last week of pregnancy and was lying in the CKUK to complete her birth. The killer fled the scene and finally killed himself.

This case is also mentioned in the annual report of the American State Department for Human Rights, in the Kosovo section, published on March 20, 2023.

The police have confirmed that the victim previously reported domestic violence and has been on police protection”, the report said. It adds that lack of investigation and responsibility for gender-based violence are some of the most serious problems in Kosovo.

By September [of 2022], prosecutors have investigated 160 cases of violations and filed 30 indictments”.

According to institutions' data in the past 12 years in Kosovo, 50 women have been killed. / REL