Evidence in Medicus case thrown out

2 February 2011 | 09:45 | Source: Tanjug

PRIŠTINA -- An EULEX judge in the proceedings against the Medicus clinic decided to throw out some of the evidence presented during the opening debate. The clinic in Priština is illegal organ transplants allegedly took place. EULEX spokesperson Irina Gudeljević told Tanjug that the judge ruled the evidence was seized in an illegal search without a warrant. EULEX prosecutors will lodge an appeal, she said and noted that a group of three judges will rule on the appeal. “Once they rule, the judge will make a final decision on whether or not to uphold the charges in this case,” Gudeljević said. Last year, EULEX brought two separate charges against Medicus. Several doctors and a former high-level Kosovo Health Ministry official are among the indictees, while the donors and recipients were of different nationalities. The case was launched by Kosovo and UNMIK police in November 2008. Last month Turkish authorities arrested, and later released surgeon Yusuf Sonmez, who is charged with involvement in organ trafficking in Kosovo. The surgeon, who worked for Medicus, denied all charges when investigated by an Istanbul judge.

Swiss MPs back Marty, seek probe

2 February 2011 | 09:47 -> 10:16 | Source: Tanjug

BERN -- The allegations presented the Marty report should be looked into by an international commission, concluded the Swiss National Council Foreign Affairs Committee. A map detailing the illegal organ trade The report on human organ trafficking in Kosovo and norther Albania was submitted by by Swiss politician and Council of Europe (CoE) Special Rapporteur Dick Marty. The Committee called on the Swiss government to support such an investigation, adding that the Council has made the decision unanimously. Previously, Marty warned the Commission about the background and the consequences of his report, including violation of human rights and illegal organ trafficking in Kosovo. The Committee and Swiss Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey considered Switzerland's possibilities to call for an international investigation. The report served as basis for last month's PACE resolution that also called for a probe to be launched. The report names members of the so-called Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) as perpetrators of kidnappings of Serb civilians in Kosovo and trade in their vital organs.

"Kosovo messy affair, run by criminals"

31 January 2011 | 12:46 | Source: Tanjug

BELGRADE -- Former Dutch State Secretary for European Affairs Frans Timmermans warned the U.S. in late 2007 that Kosovo was "run by people who live off crime". This has emerged in a leaked U.S. diplomatic cable obtained by the Wikileaks whistleblowing website. "Timmermans was concerned about the future implications of the EU's outreach to Kosovo: Kosovo is run by people who live off crime...(they have) no other means to support themselves," Timmermans said, reported U.S. officials who met with him in The Hague. The meeting took place in November 2007, ahead of the February 2008 unilateral declaration of independence made by the province's ethnic Albanians. According to this, Timmermans "noted that Russia was creating havoc in the Balkans, and Kosovo will be a messy affair." He was also quoted as saying that the Russians "will react strongly, and the European reaction will be all over the place," once the proclamation has been made in Priština. The leaked cable comes as the reputation of Kosovo's Albanian leaders has been dealt a series of blows, including the human organ trafficking report put together by Council of Europe Special Rapporteur Dick Marty. Last week, the Guardian newspaper published what it said were leaked NATO documents, that named Kosovo Albanian Prime Minister and former KLA leader Hashim Thaci as one of the "biggest fish" in organized crime in Kosovo.

"Organ trafficking will be investigated"

31 January 2011 | 09:46 | Source: Beta, RTS, Tanjug

BELGRADE -- Head of Serbia's delegation PACE Dragoljub Mićunović says the decision on who will conduct the investigation on Kosovo organ trafficking has not yet been taken. He, however, expressed his conviction that the case will be resolved. Now that the PACE resolution based on Dick Marty's report on human organ trafficking has been adopted, both the US and the European Union support the investigation, and Albania will have to cooperate, Mićunović said. The decision on who will conduct the investigation has not yet been taken, but EULEX will certainly be there, he said. "There are hopes that some other bodies might take part, such as the UN, the Council of Europe or some independent body, but it is now certain that the investigation will be carried out, Mićunović told state broadcaster RTS. He also asserted that the organ trafficking investigation will not have any influence on the beginning of talks between Belgrade and Priština, the date for which has not been set. "What we will talk about is not strictly tied to the investigation, which will be independent and which concerns completely different kinds of investigations," he was quoted as saying by Beta news agency. "There is no reason (for postponements), and it would even be bad if we were to interrupt now what we have promised, because it concerns us the most, because we need the negotiations...," Mićunović was further quoted. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) last week adopted a resolution calling on a probe to be launched, and based the document on a report submitted by CoE Rapporteur Dick Marty. In it, members of the ethnic Albanian KLA are said to be behind the 1999 and 2000 kidnappings of Serbs in the province, their illegal imprisonment in northern Albania, and harvesting of their organs for sale in the black market.

Serbia, Spain sign police agreement

1 February 2011 | 12:17 | Source: Tanjug

BELGRADE -- Serbian Interior Minister Ivica Dačić and his Spanish counterpart Perez Rubalcaba signed in Madrid an agreement on police cooperation in order to combat crime. Ivica Dačić (Tanjug, file) The Serbian Interior Ministry said on Tuesday that Dačić stated "the fight against organized crime is one of the most important fields of cooperation between two countries". "Drug trafficking is realized over Western European countries, including Spain, and that was the reason for a number of joint actions of the Serbian and Spanish police in the past period," Dačić said. He announced signing of an agreement on emergency situations, adding that Serbia will find this type of cooperation very useful given that Spain has one of the best-developed emergency coordination centers. Dačić also announced an agreement on assistance in training of Serb policemen for the UN and EU peacekeeping missions. The ministers stated that the political relations between Serbia and Spain are on the rise, but added that there is still much space for promotion of economic cooperation, the statement reads.

Kosovo minister calls for speedy start to investigation

1 February 2011 | 18:08 | Source: FoNet

BELGRADE -- Minister for Kosovo Goran Bogdanović says an investigation into the Kosovo organ trafficking allegations should start as soon as possible. Goran Bogdanović (FoNet, file) He also called for the forming of an independent commission in connection to the case. "It is very important to finally put an end to crimes that have been a public secret in Kosovo for the past 11 years," Bogdanović said on Tuesday. "We spoke about it, but the silence of the international community in that period of time, and a lack of activity by those who were tasked with uncovering crimes meant that nothing was being done on that issue," the minister stated. Bodganović appraised that "it is good these events have seen the light of day after 11 years in Dick Marty's report". He also noted that the EU mission in Kosovo, EULEX, "thus far failed to fulfill all its tasks", but added it was positive that there were announcements the mission would be "reinforced with specialized witness protection teams so that the investigation and uncovering of crimes could be done as soon as possible and in the best possible manner". CoE Rapporteur Dick Marty presented his report in December, while in January, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe adopted a resolution based on the document, calling for an investigation to be launched. The report identifies members of the so-called Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) as perpetrators of a series of grave crimes, including allegations of kidnapping and illegal imprisonment of Serb civilians in Kosovo, whose body parts were removed and sold in the black market.

"UN mission ready to support Kosovo organ probe"

1 February 2011 | 12:30 | Source: Tanjug

NEW YORK -- UNMIK is ready to fully support a probe into the Kosovo organ trafficking, the latest report of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon says, according to reports. Ban Ki-moon (Beta/AP, file) It also expresses the expectation that progress will soon be made towards opening the Belgrade-Priština dialogue which has not yet begun due to the toppling of the Kosovo government. "The release of a report by Special Rapporteur Dick Marty on 'Inhuman treatment of people and illicit trafficking in human organs in Kosovo', and the subsequent unanimous adoption on December 16 by the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights of the CoE's Parliamentary Assembly of a resolution on the report provoked sharply divergent reactions and a wave of frustration among politicians in Kosovo and Albania," it is stated in Ban Ki-moon's report to the UN Security Council (SC), that Tanjug news agency has seen. "UNMIK remains ready to provide its full support to any further eventual investigations into the allegations that may be conducted in the future," Ban Ki-moon underscored. The latest three-month report of Ban Ki-moon encompasses the period from October 19, 2010 to January 15, 2011, and it is to be submitted to the SC in mid-February, Tanjug learned. "In 2003, UNMIK had provided the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) with information and its own findings regarding the allegations contained in the report of Special Rapporteur Marty. In late 2008 and early 2009, UNMIK transferred all pertinent files to the incoming EULEX," the report reads. Ban Ki-moon expressed his regret that "the collapse of the governing coalition in Kosovo and the calling of extraordinary elections delayed the start of the European Union-facilitated dialogue." "It is my hope that the period ahead will see renewed momentum in moving the dialogue process forward, and that developments in Priština will contribute to internal political stability conducive to an early launch of the dialogue," he underscored. "My Special Representative did not call the elections, which were not organized within the framework of resolution 1244 (1999), and will not certify the results," Ban stressed. Ban Ki-moon assessed that the elections were held in a peaceful atmosphere and that there was no escalation of tension among the population. However, he noticed that the organizations that supervised the elections expressed concern about the maintaining of democratic standards.