Accused pleads guilty in organ trafficking case

Driton Jiljta, who is on trial for trafficking in kidneys, pleaded guilty to the charges of abuse of office and illegal medical practice. "I have been informed about the consequences of my plea and the penalty I will receive," Jiljta said before the court in Pristina. The prosecutor's office has charged seven Kosovo Albanians and two foreigners with human trafficking, organized crime and illegal medical practice at the Medicus clinic in Pristina, the Balkan Insight website recalls. According to the indictment, 30 illegal kidney transplants took place at the clinic in 2008. Poor people from Turkey, Russia, Moldova and Kazakhstan were lured to the clinic with false promises of payments of up to EUR 15,000 for their organs. Co-defendant and former Health Ministry official Iljir Recaj pleaded not guilty in court on Thursday. He is accused of abuse of office and forging official documents which made the illegal organ transplants at the clinic possible. Recaj confirmed that on May 2, 2008 he received an application for an organ transplanting license from Arban Dervisi, the son of the Medicus clinic owner, noting that former health minister Alus Gasi and the licensing board considered the matter, but he denied any wrongdoing. Ljufti Dervisi, the clinic's owner, university professor and alleged leader of the group, also rejected the accusations. Both of the accused refused to give closing statements at the trial. Ljufti Dervisi previously told EULEX prosecutor Jonathan Ratel that donors and recipients had to pay EUR 8,000 for transplants. The Medicus clinic closed down in 2008 after an investigation was launched into its work. It is mentioned in the report of Council of Europe special rapporteur Dick Marty on trafficking in organs of over 300 Serbs and a smaller number of Roma and Albanians, who were kidnapped or captured during the 1999 armed conflict in the southern Serbian province. According to Marty's report, members of the Alabanian paramilitary formation known as the Kosovo Liberation Army and its leader at the time and current Kosovo Prime Minister Hasim Taci were responsible for the trafficking.