Organ trafficking doctor detained

12 January 2011 | 10:00 | Source: B92

PRIŠTINA -- A Turkish surgeon suspected of heading human organ extraction and transplant surgeries in Kosovo has been detained in Istanbul. The Medicus clinic, in Priština (FoNet) The arrest relates to the so-called Medicus Clinic case. Jusuf Sonmez is believed to have performed dozens of such operations in Kosovo. EULEX spokesperson Irina Gudeljić said that the arrest was made on a warrant issued by a court in Priština. She added that it was not know at this point "whether Mr. Sonmez would be extradited to Kosovo because EULEX does not decide on that", and pointed out there were "parallel investigations conducted in Kosovo and Turkey". The spokesperson was also asked whether Sonmez could be linked with a report filed by Council of Europe rapporteur Dick Marty. In it, he named Kosovo Albanian PM Hashim Thaci and other KLA members of organizing kidnappings of Serbs in the province in 1999 and 2000, for the purpose of harvesting their body parts and selling them in the black market. "I have no comment on Mr. Marty's report, I already said everything related to Mr. Marty - that we encouraged Mr. Marty and sent him a letter that he should feel free to send all evidence he has related to organized crime or any other crime to EULEX," said the EU mission's spokesperson, and added: "Not only Dick Marty, any persons who have any evidence, because we take all accusations related to organized crime and war crimes very seriously, but I add once again, an investigation cannot be conducted without evidence". Unlike the kidnapped civilians mentioned in the Marty report, the victims of Sonmez - also known as Doctor Vampire and Doctor Vulture - came to Kosovo to have their organs removed voluntarily, tricked into believing they would receive money in return. In his report, Marty suggested that all human organ trafficking affairs in and around Kosovo over the years were organized by the same perpetrators, saying there was evidence the 1999-2000 attrocities believed to have been committed in northern Albania were “closely related to the contemporary case of the Medicus clinic”.