The President of the Republic of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani, pursuant to her constitutional and legal powers, signed tonight the decree by which the offender Arza Cakolli, for humanitarian reasons, was pardoned the remaining part of her sentence, following the review of the proposal by the Pardon Commission and in compliance with legal procedures.
The decision was made due to exceptional circumstances, as the convict gave birth to her first child while serving her sentence and is currently in the Correctional Center for Women in Lipjan, together with her baby.
In making the decision to pardon, other factors were also taken into account, including the fact that the convict has not committed any criminal offense before, the criminal offense for which she was convicted is for “Endangering the Public Traffic”, i.e. an accident was committed unintentionally, while it was proven that she was not under the influence of alcohol or other substances when the accident occurred. In addition, the health challenges suffered by the mother and baby have also been taken into account.
The convict began serving her sentence of 1 year and two months in prison in July 2024, and was due to be released from prison on September 14th of this year.
The file with the proposal, reviewed by the Commission and the President’s legal team, has reached the President’s desk today.
Therefore, taking into account humanitarian factors and the professional assessments of all relevant institutions, Madam President has decided to pardon the remaining part of her sentence.
