Kosovo Rights Groups Welcome Life Sentence for Woman’s Murder

Women's advocacy groups welcomed the Basic Court of Ferizaj/Urosevac ruling on Thursday sentencing Naser Pajazitaj to life imprisonment for the aggravated murder of his cousin, Donjeta Pajazitaj, who was 24 when she died in 2015.

In a statement issued after the verdict was issued, the Kosovo Women's Network, KWN, representing 158 country-wide organisations, said the sentence was a step forward.

"Having in consideration the numerous cases of physical and sexual violence against women, such verdicts bring a glimpse of hope that violence and murder of women will be sentenced without any compromise," KWN said.

The indictment filed by the prosecution on November 11, 2015 said Donjeta Pajazitaj was on her way to work when Naser Pajazitaj picked her up in a car, driving to a place in the mountains west of the village of Strellc near Decan, and shooting her twice in the head.

The indictment said Pajazitaj concealed evidence of his murder by covering the body. It was found by passersby on December 27, 2015, six weeks after her family reported her missing. The prosecution sought the maximum sentence in the case.

In the final session of the trial, prosecutor Valbona Dishaj-Haxhosaj said the accused committed the crime of aggravated murder in a cruel, deceitful way.

Following the verdict, Ahmet Tahiri, a lawyer for Pajazitaj, said they would appeal. "We will file a complaint and use every extraordinary legal route in order to clarify the truth in this case," he said outside the courtroom.

Thursday's decision by the Basic Court of Ferizaj is the third verdict on the case by a basic court in Kosovo. In March 2018, Pajazitaj was sentenced to two years and four months in prison for having an unlicensed but acquitted of his cousin's...