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She poisoned her mother-in-law and then suffocated her with a pillow, Marjana Çmeta confesses
2026-04-30 09:23:37 / AKTUALITET
In the Pojska prison intended for women, perhaps the internal psychological struggle is much stronger than in any other penal institution.
This also explains the late letters, the unusual letters arriving at the Inside Story editorial office .
'I was sentenced to 32 years and have served almost 10 years so far. The sentence was given to me at the age of 19 (on the verge of being a minor), I have a daughter who is the same age as I am here. I have not enjoyed motherhood like any other woman'
This is the story of Marjana Çmeta...
A marriage started without legal formalization, but with full cohabitation within a family, in the same apartment with the husband's parents, in Kamëz.
"Both women, the daughter-in-law and the mother-in-law, did not have good relations with each other. Where the demand for accountability, in their daily lives, not cleanliness, not housework had created a very strained relationship," said journalist Anila Hoxha.
A common reality for many families, where living together brings clashes, tensions, and dysfunctional relationships.
In this case, the relationship that wasn't working was the one between the daughter-in-law and the mother-in-law.
According to the file, the relationship between Marjana Cmeta and her mother-in-law, Lirije Lami, was bad... filled with constant disagreements that found no solution... but were only postponed from day to day.
Until on April 30, 2017 the conflict turns into crime...
"The defendant poured the photoxine into a glass of juice and gave it to her mother-in-law to drink, telling her that drinking it would drive away evil," said Marjana Cmeta.
An action that does not occur on impulse, but requires thought, requires a decision, requires a conscious step towards elimination. After consuming the liquid, the victim's condition worsens, but it does not end there. According to the investigation, the thought of finalizing a serious crime does not end there...
"After drinking the liquid, Lirija's health condition deteriorated. Since Lirija was still alive, Marjana blocked her breathing with her hands, suffocating her."
A double act… first poisoning… then strangulation… For investigators, it shows the clarity of the premeditated intention to complete the crime. So, it was not a spur-of-the-moment decision as a result of psychological shock…
" The story was reported as a suicide, but it turned out that she not only served him poison, she told him that the poison, the drink was a formula to calm them down so they could have a good relationship, and then while the victim was writhing, she then strangled him. I remember at that time that the author had a small baby that she had just given birth to ," said journalist Anila Hoxha.
"Many women who commit serious crimes lack a sense of empathy, or have it in very low doses. They develop antisocial personality traits, and the latter makes them more prone to using substances, violating social norms, and breaking laws," said psychologist Almeida Xhaferri.
But what makes this story even more serious is what happens immediately after the crime. Because Marjana Cmeta does not leave, does not escape, does not try to cover her tracks...
She goes and confesses to an imam at a mosque in Tirana, where she describes everything she had done.
After the incident, Marjana Çmeta presented herself to Hysen Shehu, imam of the Çollakëve Mosque, located in Student City, Municipal Unit No. 2, and told him about the actions she had committed.
Hyseni recorded Marjana's story on a video, which Agim Lami and his cousin Arben Saliu watched.
Despite the reports received, Hyseni, Agim and Arben did not report the crime they confessed to having committed to the competent authorities.
Marjana's confession was recorded on video. It is then seen by other family members. But, despite this confession, the crime is not immediately reported. Another link in the silence, another moment where the truth hangs in the balance without immediately facing justice.
Until the intervention of the investigative bodies... who took the case to the Serious Crimes Prosecutor's Office. The investigation followed with her rapid arrest, moments during which she was breastfeeding the child.
The first months after giving birth, I nursed her in prison day after day. Imagine my emotional state; almost a teenager, with newborn children and in prison. I tried to be strong for my daughter even though inside I was devastated and almost hopeless.
"For women who raise their children in prison after crimes, unlike men who kill in their families, they suffer a double sentence. And this is not the decision of the court that sentences them, but also the decision of their families, who do not allow their children to meet them. I have constantly noticed the prayers and appeals of these women, to know where their children are", said journalist Anila Hoxha.
"Within the prison institution, women suffer greatly from the lack of children, and another point that needs to be fixed in the penitentiary system is to increase meetings with children," said the former director of the women's prison, Xhoi Jakaj./ InsideStory
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