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Investigator Calls For Independent Probe On Alleged Kosovo Organ Trafficking

December 16, 2010

A Council of Europe investigator has called for a detailed independent probe into alleged organ trafficking in Kosovo.

Dick Marty spoke a day after the release of his report which alleged that civilian detainees of the Kosovo Liberation Army were shot to death in Albania in the aftermath of the 1999 war so their kidneys could be sold on the black market.

The report also suggested that Kosovo's Prime Minister Hashim Thaci was once the "boss" of a criminal underworld behind the trade.

Marty told a news conference in Paris that a thorough investigation must "create the conditions which allow witnesses to speak out."

"Because that's the problem," Marty explains. "Under current conditions, the witnesses will not speak out because their lives are not protected."

Marty, who is a Swiss former prosecutor, also said he was "profoundly shocked" by what he said was institutional silence about the alleged crimes.

The Council of Europe's legal affair committee for whom Marty conducted the investigation has voted to recommend international and national investigations into the report.

The committee accused international organizations of being aware of the crimes but looking the other way "to promote short-term stability at any price."

compiled from agency reports

Source: http://www.rferl.org/content/article/2250583.html

Copyright (c) 2010. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.