Prosecutor backs Del Ponte involvement

2 March 2011 | 11:32 | Source: Tanjug, Večernje novosti

BELGRADE -- Serbian War Crimes Prosecutor Vladimir Vukčević says he supports Carla Del Ponte's initiative to help the investigation into human organ trafficking in Kosovo. Vladimir Vukčević (FoNet, file) “I had an exceptionally professional cooperation with her. She was the first who opened the topic and she knows all the main players in the region,“ he said. “Besides, she was also in Albania and as a Hague Tribunal chief prosecutor she was working on Kosovo cases and she is aware of all the details about the KLA representatives,“ the war crimes prosecutor told daily Večernje novosti. According to him, the investigation conducted by Del Ponte would be fully objective and unburdened by things that could affect EULEX. “I emphasize that witness protection is a key problem in Kosovo and Metohija and I’m afraid that the environment that EULEX works in could also be a problem. I support the idea that EULEX should conduct the investigation into these crimes with the help from our and Albanian prosecution but under supervision of an international subject,” Vukčević was quoted as saying. He added, however, that ”we of course regardless of this continue to work on the case and we are ready to share our evidence with everybody who will run the investigation”. Del Ponte has offered to help in the investigation into the human organ trade in Kosovo. In her book The Hunt: Me and the War Criminals she explained that the investigators searched the Yellow House in central Albania in 2003 where, according to many sources, KLA prisoners were killed after their organs had been removed.