An Albanian Appeals Court judge was fatally shot in a Tirana courtroom on October 6, an incident that has intensified national frustration over the country’s Western-backed judicial reforms, as reported by Fox News.

Judge Astrit Kalaja died from his injuries after being shot while presiding over a property dispute case, according to the International Commission of Jurists. Two others were injured in the attack, and authorities confirmed that a 30-year-old suspect was arrested at the scene.

The killing has sparked widespread outrage across Albania and renewed criticism of the nation’s judicial system, which many argue has been crippled by politically driven reforms.

⚠️ WARNING: This post contains graphic descriptions of a fatal courtroom shooting.

BREAKING: A judge has been shot dead inside his own courtroom by a defendant who allegedly opened fire during a heated property dispute hearing in Albania.

Appeals Court Judge Astrit Kalaja was… pic.twitter.com/ODWpP6Wgby

— True Crime Updates (@TrueCrimeUpdat) October 8, 2025

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Former Albanian Ambassador to the United States and the United Nations Agim Nesho told Fox News Digital that reforms launched nearly a decade ago under the guidance of the European Union and the United States were “intended to strengthen the rule of law” but have instead been “transformed into a political instrument, undermining democratic institutions and concentrating power in the hands of the executive.”

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“As a result,” Nesho said, “the public’s confidence in the justice system has severely eroded, with institutional dysfunction reaching a level where some segments of society feel driven to take justice into their own hands — a dangerous sign of democratic backsliding.”

Opposition Democratic Party leader Sali Berisha described the judge’s murder as “an abominable act and an alarm bell that should not be ignored.”

He told Fox News Digital that the widespread sympathy expressed toward the shooter, including a now-deactivated GoFundMe campaign to support his legal defense, illustrates “a protest against a dysfunctional judiciary, against a corrupt and politicized judicial system.”

Berisha said that judicial reforms “left the country without a Constitutional Court and without a High Court for more than five years,” leading to a “staggering backlog” of roughly 200,000 unresolved cases.

He added that the vetting process for judges and prosecutors had become “a witch hunt against magistrates that were perceived [to be] independent or potentially right-leaning,” resulting in what he called “the weaponization of the judiciary against the opposition.”

A 2020 report on U.S. assistance to Albania noted that the reforms were designed to “restore the integrity of the Albanian justice system.”

It stated that USAID had assisted Albania’s High Court in managing 72% of its 35,000 backlogged cases and reported that 125 of 286 judicial personnel were dismissed for “unexplained wealth, ties to organized crime, or incompetence,” while 50 others resigned before vetting.

Lawyer Besnik Muçi, a former prosecutor and Constitutional Court judge, said the reforms sought “to establish a credible, fair, independent, professional, service-oriented justice system,” but acknowledged that the system “has failed in almost all” of those goals.

He said about 150,000 cases remain in backlog and that the closure of multiple appeal and district courts has “almost blocked the citizens’ access to justice.”

Judge Astrit Kalaja was killed inside the courtroom in Albania in a shocking act.
This incident marks the first time a judge has been murdered inside a courtroom in Albania. pic.twitter.com/W4mHyb97dP

— Isa Myzyraj (@IsamyzyrajAlb) October 6, 2025

Following Kalaja’s death, both the Korça Bar Association and the National Bar Association of Albania boycotted court proceedings on October 9–10.

Korça Bar Association Director Nevzat Tarelli told local outlet CNA that the killing “highlighted the need for increased security for and trust in judicial personnel,” warning that “people who expect justice in a timely manner, if they do not receive it, no longer have faith in justice.”

The Albanian government has not commented publicly on the size of the country’s judicial backlog or on growing public dissatisfaction with the system.

A State Department spokesperson offered condolences, saying, “We offer our deepest sympathies to the victims of this attack and their families and strongly condemn the use of violence against judges and prosecutors.”