Albania rejects Serbia's request for cooperation on KLA organ trade
The Albanian prosecution in Tirana rejected Serbia’s request to cooperate in the alleged case of the organ trade of killed Serb civilians by members of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA)
(KosovoCompromise Staff) Wednesday, October 29, 2008
"The rejection of cooperation by the Albanian prosecution was a politically motivated and unprofessional act, especially as it changed its mind twice in one day", Serbian Justice Minister Snezana Malovic said Tuesday.
The War Crimes Prosecutor's Office will continue to work on the the case and the Justice Ministry will forward any findings to the Council of Europe, she said.
The Council of Europe appointed in June a Special Rapporteur of its Parliamentary Assembly to investigate the claims made by former International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia chief prosecutor Carla del Ponte in her book entitled "The Hunt: Me and War Criminals".
In the book, Del Ponte alleges that the ICTY Prosecution had obtained information that kidneys and other organs had been taken out of the bodies of the Serbs who had been reported missing in Kosovo in 1999, and then smuggled and sold to foreign clients.
Serbia will persist in the investigation into the existence of an alleged clinic in the Albanian village of Gur, near Matia.
"This must be done for the sake of truth and of the families of the victims", she said.
Spokesman of the Serbian War Crimes Prosecutor's Office Bruno Vekaric expressed his conviction that the Albanian prosecution rejected Serbia's request under political pressure, as demonstrated by their acceptance at first and subsequent refusal.
Serbia's War Crimes Prosecutor Vladimir Vukcevic met in Tirana on Monday with Albanian Prosecutor Ina Rama to discuss this issue.
The Serbian prosecution launched the investigation on March 21, following Del Ponte's claims.
