Serbian prosecutor probes claims that Serbs were killed for organs in Albania
9:41 AM CDT, October 23, 2008
BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) _ Serbia's war crimes prosecutor wants to travel to Albania to probe allegations that Kosovo guerillas killed Serb prisoners there years ago and sold their organs.
Prosecutor Vladimir Vukcevic said Thursday his office has asked Albanian prosecutors to look into the case and talks are under way to determine when he will go there himself.
Albania could have mass graves containing the remains of slain Serbs, he added.
Kosovo and Albania have denied any knowledge of the crimes, while the EU
Allegations of organ-trafficking involving Serbs killed during Kosovo's 1998-99 war first surfaced in a book by the former chief U.N. war crimes prosecutor Carla Del Ponte.
In "The Hunt: War Criminals and Me," Del Ponte wrote that, according to her sources, between 100 and 300 mostly Serb civilians were transported by truck from Kosovo to a house near the Albanian town of Burrel, about 55 miles (90 kilometers) north of the capital, Tirana.
Kosovo guerillas killed the Serbs and doctors allegedly extracted the captives' internal organs, Del Ponte wrote.
has said it would investigate the claims.
Thousands of people were killed in Kosovo as Serb security troops cracked down on ethnic Albanian separatists. The conflict ended after NATO bombed Serbia in 1999 to force it to stop attacks on ethnic Albanian civilians.
Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in February. Its independence has been recognized by over 40 countries, including the U.S. and most EU nations, but is fiercely opposed by Serbia and Russia.
Serbian prosecutor probes claims that Serbs were killed for organs in Albania -- chicagotribune.com
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Serbian prosecutor in Albania to probe organ trafficking
10/27/2008 | 10:09 PM
TIRANA, Albania – Albania's top prosecutor on Monday met the Serbian war crimes prosecutor who is probing claims that guerrillas killed Serb prisoners for their organs during the 1999 Kosovo war.
Vladimir Vukcevic handed the Albanian prosecutor the material the Serb side has gathered on the case so far, his spokesman Bruno Vekaric said. Vukcevic is probing claims that mass graves containing the remains of slain Serbs could be hidden in Albania.
Vekaric said Monday's meeting was very good "despite totally different positions" on the case. He said the US embassies in Belgrade and Tirana played an important role in setting up the meeting.
Kosovo and Albania have denied any knowledge of the alleged crimes.
Albanian Prosecutor-General Ina Rama said Albania would supply "all the required support" to facilitate Vukcevic's work, according to her spokeswoman, Holta Zhiti.
Allegations of organ-trafficking involving Serbs killed during Kosovo's 1998-99 war first surfaced in a book by the former chief UN war crimes prosecutor Carla Del Ponte.
In "The Hunt: War Criminals and Me," Del Ponte wrote that, according to her sources, between 100 and 300 mostly Serb civilians were transported by truck from Kosovo to a house near the Albanian town of Burrel, about 55 miles (90 kilometers) north of the capital, Tirana.
There, the younger ones allegedly were picked out and killed by Kosovo guerrillas, and their organs were later sold abroad, the book says.
Albanian Foreign Minister Lulzim Basha has called the allegations "inventions and absurdities."
Thousands of people were killed in Kosovo as Serb security troops cracked down on ethnic Albanian separatists. The conflict ended after NATO bombed Serbia in 1999.
Hundreds of Serbs and ethnic Albanians are still missing from the war. Kosovo declared independence from Serbia on February 17. - AP
GMANews.TV - Serbian prosecutor in Albania to probe organ trafficking - World - Official Website of GMA News and Public Affairs - Latest Philippine News - BETA
Serbia Urges Albania To Reopen Kosovo Organ Trafficking Probe
TIRANA, Albania (AFP)--Serbian prosecutors investigating the trafficking of human organs from Kosovo a decade ago urged their Albanian counterparts Monday to reopen an inquiry into the allegations.
The allegations that Kosovo Albanians trafficked Serb prisoners through Albania from Kosovo for their body organs were raised this year by former U.N. chief war crimes prosecutor Carla Del Ponte.
A delegation led by Serbia's war crimes prosecutor, Vladimir Vukcevic, said they handed over new evidence to Albanian authorities which back up the claims at a meeting in Tirana.
"The investigation was launched on March 21, 2008, regarding claims of former ICTY chief prosecutor Carla Del Ponte in her book 'The Hunt: Me and War Criminals,'" Vukcevic's office said in a statement.
Del Ponte claimed in her book that 300 Serb prisoners were kidnapped and transported from Kosovo to Albania, where they had their organs removed for sale to foreign clinics before being killed.
In April, Albanian Foreign Minister Lulezim Basha said international prosecutors who carried out preliminary investigations in 2004 hadn't found any information proving the allegations.
The Serbian delegation described Monday's meeting as "constructive" at which it presented the Albanian authorities with "a lot of new facts and evidence."
"According to our estimates, there is enough evidence to open a probe in Albania," Vukcevic's spokesman Bruno Vekaric told AFP by telephone after the talks.
"This is a case that looks like a war crime or maybe organized crime," Vekaric said, adding that an agreement had been reached on further action.
"There are opposing positions related to the evaluation of evidence and establishing (the) facts," he said.
Serbia Urges Albania To Reopen Kosovo Organ Trafficking Probe
YouTube - Exposed: how Kosovo Serbs were butchered for organs
Serbs slains for their organs, says ex-U.N. lawyer
source: CNN.com
Friday, 11 April 2008 PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) -- A human rights group has urged Kosovo authorities to investigate claims by a former U.N. war crimes prosecutor that ethnic Albanian guerrillas killed dozens of Serbs and sold their organs at the end of the war in Kosovo.
New York-based Human Rights Watch said Carla Del Ponte had presented "sufficiently grave evidence" in her newly-published book to warrant an investigation into claims guerrillas took Serbs into Albania, killed them and then sold their organs to international traffickers in 1999.
In a letter dated April 4 and addressed to Kosovo's prime minister, the rights group called upon Kosovo's authorities "to determine the veracity" of the claims with counterparts in Albania.
The confidential letter was obtained by The Associated Press on Friday from an international official. Officials from the rights group confirmed they had sent the letter, but declined to comment, saying they wanted to give Kosovo authorities time to respond to the request.
"We consider the circumstantial evidence she presents to be sufficiently grave to warrant further investigation," Human Rights Watch said in the letter.
"We urge you to initiate a thorough investigation in cooperation with your Albania counterparts, in order to determine the veracity of Del Ponte's claim and to ensure anyone found responsible for such crimes is held accountable in a court of law," it said.
In the letter, the rights group said Del Ponte was told that Kosovo Albanians transported between 100 and 300 people -- most of them Serb civilians -- by truck from Kosovo into northern Albania in June 1999, as NATO and the United Nations were moving into Kosovo at the end of the war between separatist rebels and Serbian forces.
"Some of the younger, healthier captives were allegedly fed, examined by doctors and never beaten," the group said in the letter.
They were then transported into facilities near the Albanian town of Burrel, about 90 kilometers (55 miles) north of the capital, Tirana, where "doctors extracted the captives' internal organs," Human Rights Watch said.
"Bodies of the victims may be buried near a yellow house nearby a graveyard about 20 kilometers (12 miles) south of Burrel," the letter says.
It cites Del Ponte saying U.N. investigators inspected the house and found medical equipment used in surgery and traces of blood, but were unable to determine if the blood was human.
According to Del Ponte, high-level members of the guerrilla Kosovo Liberation Army were aware of the organ-smuggling operation. Most of the victims were Kosovo Serbs, but they also included women from Kosovo, Albania, Russia and Slavic countries.
Kosovo's justice minister Nekibe Kelmendi dismissed the allegations as "fabrications."
"These are pure fabrications by Del Ponte or by Serbia itself," Kelmendi said. "I have had four private meetings with Carla Del Ponte and she never once mentioned any such allegations."
She criticized Del Ponte "for writing about issues that were not turned into official charges."
"If she knew of such cases then she should be charged for withholding evidence and hiding these crimes," Kelmendi said.
Kelmendi's ministry was also on the list of authorities who received the letter from the rights watchdog. European Union and U.N. officials in Kosovo were also sent the letter.
Serbia's war crimes prosecutor has said he will look into the claims. Families of missing Serbs, however, accuse the prosecutor of failing to take action even though they have provided the names of 300 people they accuse of being involved in the kidnapping of Serbs.
Hundreds of Serbs and ethnic Albanians are still missing from Kosovo's 1998-99 war.
Kosovo declared independence from Serbia on Feb. 17 and has been recognized by the United States and the bulk of nations in the European Union. Serbia and its ally Russia oppose Kosovo's statehood.
9:41 AM CDT, October 23, 2008
BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) _ Serbia's war crimes prosecutor wants to travel to Albania to probe allegations that Kosovo guerillas killed Serb prisoners there years ago and sold their organs.
Prosecutor Vladimir Vukcevic said Thursday his office has asked Albanian prosecutors to look into the case and talks are under way to determine when he will go there himself.
Albania could have mass graves containing the remains of slain Serbs, he added.
Kosovo and Albania have denied any knowledge of the crimes, while the EU
Allegations of organ-trafficking involving Serbs killed during Kosovo's 1998-99 war first surfaced in a book by the former chief U.N. war crimes prosecutor Carla Del Ponte.
In "The Hunt: War Criminals and Me," Del Ponte wrote that, according to her sources, between 100 and 300 mostly Serb civilians were transported by truck from Kosovo to a house near the Albanian town of Burrel, about 55 miles (90 kilometers) north of the capital, Tirana.
Kosovo guerillas killed the Serbs and doctors allegedly extracted the captives' internal organs, Del Ponte wrote.
has said it would investigate the claims.
Thousands of people were killed in Kosovo as Serb security troops cracked down on ethnic Albanian separatists. The conflict ended after NATO bombed Serbia in 1999 to force it to stop attacks on ethnic Albanian civilians.
Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in February. Its independence has been recognized by over 40 countries, including the U.S. and most EU nations, but is fiercely opposed by Serbia and Russia.
Serbian prosecutor probes claims that Serbs were killed for organs in Albania -- chicagotribune.com
-----
Serbian prosecutor in Albania to probe organ trafficking
10/27/2008 | 10:09 PM
TIRANA, Albania – Albania's top prosecutor on Monday met the Serbian war crimes prosecutor who is probing claims that guerrillas killed Serb prisoners for their organs during the 1999 Kosovo war.
Vladimir Vukcevic handed the Albanian prosecutor the material the Serb side has gathered on the case so far, his spokesman Bruno Vekaric said. Vukcevic is probing claims that mass graves containing the remains of slain Serbs could be hidden in Albania.
Vekaric said Monday's meeting was very good "despite totally different positions" on the case. He said the US embassies in Belgrade and Tirana played an important role in setting up the meeting.
Kosovo and Albania have denied any knowledge of the alleged crimes.
Albanian Prosecutor-General Ina Rama said Albania would supply "all the required support" to facilitate Vukcevic's work, according to her spokeswoman, Holta Zhiti.
Allegations of organ-trafficking involving Serbs killed during Kosovo's 1998-99 war first surfaced in a book by the former chief UN war crimes prosecutor Carla Del Ponte.
In "The Hunt: War Criminals and Me," Del Ponte wrote that, according to her sources, between 100 and 300 mostly Serb civilians were transported by truck from Kosovo to a house near the Albanian town of Burrel, about 55 miles (90 kilometers) north of the capital, Tirana.
There, the younger ones allegedly were picked out and killed by Kosovo guerrillas, and their organs were later sold abroad, the book says.
Albanian Foreign Minister Lulzim Basha has called the allegations "inventions and absurdities."
Thousands of people were killed in Kosovo as Serb security troops cracked down on ethnic Albanian separatists. The conflict ended after NATO bombed Serbia in 1999.
Hundreds of Serbs and ethnic Albanians are still missing from the war. Kosovo declared independence from Serbia on February 17. - AP
GMANews.TV - Serbian prosecutor in Albania to probe organ trafficking - World - Official Website of GMA News and Public Affairs - Latest Philippine News - BETA
Serbia Urges Albania To Reopen Kosovo Organ Trafficking Probe
TIRANA, Albania (AFP)--Serbian prosecutors investigating the trafficking of human organs from Kosovo a decade ago urged their Albanian counterparts Monday to reopen an inquiry into the allegations.
The allegations that Kosovo Albanians trafficked Serb prisoners through Albania from Kosovo for their body organs were raised this year by former U.N. chief war crimes prosecutor Carla Del Ponte.
A delegation led by Serbia's war crimes prosecutor, Vladimir Vukcevic, said they handed over new evidence to Albanian authorities which back up the claims at a meeting in Tirana.
"The investigation was launched on March 21, 2008, regarding claims of former ICTY chief prosecutor Carla Del Ponte in her book 'The Hunt: Me and War Criminals,'" Vukcevic's office said in a statement.
Del Ponte claimed in her book that 300 Serb prisoners were kidnapped and transported from Kosovo to Albania, where they had their organs removed for sale to foreign clinics before being killed.
In April, Albanian Foreign Minister Lulezim Basha said international prosecutors who carried out preliminary investigations in 2004 hadn't found any information proving the allegations.
The Serbian delegation described Monday's meeting as "constructive" at which it presented the Albanian authorities with "a lot of new facts and evidence."
"According to our estimates, there is enough evidence to open a probe in Albania," Vukcevic's spokesman Bruno Vekaric told AFP by telephone after the talks.
"This is a case that looks like a war crime or maybe organized crime," Vekaric said, adding that an agreement had been reached on further action.
"There are opposing positions related to the evaluation of evidence and establishing (the) facts," he said.
Serbia Urges Albania To Reopen Kosovo Organ Trafficking Probe
YouTube - Exposed: how Kosovo Serbs were butchered for organs
Serbs slains for their organs, says ex-U.N. lawyer
source: CNN.com
Friday, 11 April 2008 PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) -- A human rights group has urged Kosovo authorities to investigate claims by a former U.N. war crimes prosecutor that ethnic Albanian guerrillas killed dozens of Serbs and sold their organs at the end of the war in Kosovo.
New York-based Human Rights Watch said Carla Del Ponte had presented "sufficiently grave evidence" in her newly-published book to warrant an investigation into claims guerrillas took Serbs into Albania, killed them and then sold their organs to international traffickers in 1999.
In a letter dated April 4 and addressed to Kosovo's prime minister, the rights group called upon Kosovo's authorities "to determine the veracity" of the claims with counterparts in Albania.
The confidential letter was obtained by The Associated Press on Friday from an international official. Officials from the rights group confirmed they had sent the letter, but declined to comment, saying they wanted to give Kosovo authorities time to respond to the request.
"We consider the circumstantial evidence she presents to be sufficiently grave to warrant further investigation," Human Rights Watch said in the letter.
"We urge you to initiate a thorough investigation in cooperation with your Albania counterparts, in order to determine the veracity of Del Ponte's claim and to ensure anyone found responsible for such crimes is held accountable in a court of law," it said.
In the letter, the rights group said Del Ponte was told that Kosovo Albanians transported between 100 and 300 people -- most of them Serb civilians -- by truck from Kosovo into northern Albania in June 1999, as NATO and the United Nations were moving into Kosovo at the end of the war between separatist rebels and Serbian forces.
"Some of the younger, healthier captives were allegedly fed, examined by doctors and never beaten," the group said in the letter.
They were then transported into facilities near the Albanian town of Burrel, about 90 kilometers (55 miles) north of the capital, Tirana, where "doctors extracted the captives' internal organs," Human Rights Watch said.
"Bodies of the victims may be buried near a yellow house nearby a graveyard about 20 kilometers (12 miles) south of Burrel," the letter says.
It cites Del Ponte saying U.N. investigators inspected the house and found medical equipment used in surgery and traces of blood, but were unable to determine if the blood was human.
According to Del Ponte, high-level members of the guerrilla Kosovo Liberation Army were aware of the organ-smuggling operation. Most of the victims were Kosovo Serbs, but they also included women from Kosovo, Albania, Russia and Slavic countries.
Kosovo's justice minister Nekibe Kelmendi dismissed the allegations as "fabrications."
"These are pure fabrications by Del Ponte or by Serbia itself," Kelmendi said. "I have had four private meetings with Carla Del Ponte and she never once mentioned any such allegations."
She criticized Del Ponte "for writing about issues that were not turned into official charges."
"If she knew of such cases then she should be charged for withholding evidence and hiding these crimes," Kelmendi said.
Kelmendi's ministry was also on the list of authorities who received the letter from the rights watchdog. European Union and U.N. officials in Kosovo were also sent the letter.
Serbia's war crimes prosecutor has said he will look into the claims. Families of missing Serbs, however, accuse the prosecutor of failing to take action even though they have provided the names of 300 people they accuse of being involved in the kidnapping of Serbs.
Hundreds of Serbs and ethnic Albanians are still missing from Kosovo's 1998-99 war.
Kosovo declared independence from Serbia on Feb. 17 and has been recognized by the United States and the bulk of nations in the European Union. Serbia and its ally Russia oppose Kosovo's statehood.
