on january 31 1945 shantoja was sentenced to death by a military court, headed by esat ndreu, with members mustafa iljazi and hysni lame, whereas government prosecutor was vaskë koleci. on february 2 1945, the central investigation committee for war criminals, headed by jusuf alibali, recommended the withholding of the military court of shkodër decision. on february 9, 1945, the highest military court in tirana withheld the decision. the execution by firing squad occurred on march 5, 1945, in tirana's outskirts." along with shantoja, sulçe beg bushati was also shot by a firing squad. after the execution, father viktor volaj was the last person to see the body of shantoja. enver hoxha, albania's dictator, was personally involved in shantoja's execution.