Meanwhile, Arlinda’s close friend, Iliriana Zhubi, who lives in the United States, gave a painful account of her life.
According to her, Arlinda had lived for years with systematic psychological violence from her ex-husband Jetoni.
“In every phone call and in every conversation, Arlinda was spiritually burdened. She was always afraid that one day the separation would destroy her son’s life and end up killing her. She used to say: ‘The day I part with Life, it will be death for me. They will kill me“, said Iliriana, deeply moved.
She explained that Arlinda had also denounced the violence in the USA two years ago, but had withdrawn the denunciation quickly, with the hope that returning to Kosovo would improve relations, but this did not happen.
“That is, from time to time there was physical violence, but Alinda never witnessed it. Yes, psychological violence has been present all along. Her ex-husband always saw Arlinda as a lower, weaker woman. he did not respect her, always insulted her, insulted her with the most evil words, regardless of whether it was someone’s presence or when they were alone, which has always hurt Arlinda spiritually. and such a report also ended in a police report in the United States of America two years ago, for which after a short time Arlinda withdrew that report within a few hours, within a very short period always with the hope that they will return to Kosovo, that things will improve, that is, that their situation will be different, but it did not happen“, says Iliriana.
The ex-husband’s family, according to the friend, had never accepted the marriage.
The reports were heated to the point that Jeton’s brother (Arlinda’s brother-in-law) had threatened his brother with death.
After filing for divorce, custody of the son was initially divided by schedule. Arlinda was convinced that by following the law and court orders, she would be able to continue her life without disturbing her son’s peace. But when he got a protection order, he didn’t offer him adequate housing.
The police advised him to go to his brothers. She left for her brother in Radavc, while her ex-husband brought her mother and brother (brother-in-law) to the new house, according to Iliriana, to do psychological violence to her and force her to surrender.
Arlinda had said she just wanted to hug the boy, even if they took his life. He returned accompanied by the police. Before leaving, he had prepared food for the boy, kissed his hands and told him he would be back in a little while.
According to relatives, when he returned he had no contact with the boy. Voices were heard, a verbal clash with the brother-in-law and then the sounds of pain.
“Why was she so sure they were going to kill her? Because he knew their character. He knew how they had grown up and what ‘being a real man’ meant to them. And he knew how much they didn’t love him from the beginning,” emphasized Iliriana.
She calls it a complete failure of institutions. “Arlinda hoped that the system would work like in America. She tried again and again through the law and institutions. She went as far as asking God for help and nothing worked.”
The Chief State Prosecutor, Zenun Gashi, has reassigned three criminal cases related to the case from the Basic Prosecutor’s Office of Peja to the Basic Prosecutor’s Office of Prishtina.
His office is analyzing institutional actions and inactions, risk assessments and safeguards. Full accountability will be required in case of violation or negligence.
Lawyer Brunilda Lika, invited to the studio, emphasized that “the state must guarantee the life, shelter and safety of the victim of domestic violence. It is absurd that she returns to where the perpetrators are. The problem is not the law, but its implementation and the lack of cooperation between the links.”
