Prosecution confirms it received organ trafficking report

UNMIK has sent the Serbian War Crimes Prosecution a report on the “yellow house” related to the probe of human organ trafficking activities in northern Albania. According to prosecution spokesperson Bruno Vekaric, UNMIK gave Prosecutor Vladimir Vukcevic ten documents which were missing in connection with the investigation of human trafficking in Kosovo in 1999. Prosecution confirms it received organ trafficking report After several attempts by the prosecution to get the complete documentation from UNMIK regarding the investigation, its determination has paid off, it appears. Former UNMIK Investigator Jose Pablo Baraybar, who found information on the existence of camps in north Albanian, said that the question of the “yellow house” is not the only uninvestigated Kosovo war crimes issue. Baraybar spoke about his suspicion in a recent B92 TV program. “When we talk about Kosovo, we needed to pay special attention to a number of other cases which are flagrant and which have a lot more evidence, such as Vlujak, the kidnapping of people in Orahovac, Velika Hoca, the Bozanic and Kostic families,” Baraybar said. “We later found those people and identified them, so all the material traces of the crimes were there. As far as I know, no one was charged for these crimes,” he said. The box which contained the material evidence, gathered by Hague Tribunal investigators in the human organ trafficking case, has been destroyed. The box contained pieces of gauze, medicine, photographs which had traces of blood and other pieces of evidence tied to the case. B92 has learned that the this evidence was destroyed supposedly "for reasons of hygiene". The prosecution believes that hundreds of Kosovo Serbs were kidnapped by ethnic Albanians and taken to northern Albania during and after the 1999 war in the province, to have their vital organs removed and sold in the black market. It is believed that besides the yellow house, three more locations, also in the north of Albania, were used to commit the same crime. Serbia started the investigation a year ago, after the allegations were mentioned in former Chief Hague Prosecutor Carla Del Ponte book's "The Hunt". Council of Europe rapporteur Dick Marty is also conducting an investigation into the reports. According to previous announcements, he is due to arrive here at the end of March.

Prosecution confirms it received organ trafficking report

After several attempts by the prosecution to get the complete documentation from UNMIK regarding the investigation, its determination has paid off, it appears.

Former UNMIK Investigator Jose Pablo Baraybar, who found information on the existence of camps in north Albanian, said that the question of the “yellow house” is not the only uninvestigated Kosovo war crimes issue.

Baraybar spoke about his suspicion in a recent B92 TV program.

“When we talk about Kosovo, we needed to pay special attention to a number of other cases which are flagrant and which have a lot more evidence, such as Vlujak, the kidnapping of people in Orahovac, Velika Hoča, the Božanić and Kostić families,” Baraybar said.

“We later found those people and identified them, so all the material traces of the crimes were there. As far as I know, no one was charged for these crimes,” he said.

The box which contained the material evidence, gathered by Hague Tribunal investigators in the human organ trafficking case, has been destroyed.

The box contained pieces of gauze, medicine, photographs which had traces of blood and other pieces of evidence tied to the case.

B92 has learned that the this evidence was destroyed supposedly "for reasons of hygiene".

The prosecution believes that hundreds of Kosovo Serbs were kidnapped by ethnic Albanians and taken to northern Albania during and after the 1999 war in the province, to have their vital organs removed and sold in the black market.

It is believed that besides the yellow house, three more locations, also in the north of Albania, were used to commit the same crime.

Serbia started the investigation a year ago, after the allegations were mentioned in former Chief Hague Prosecutor Carla Del Ponte book's "The Hunt".

Council of Europe rapporteur Dick Marty is also conducting an investigation into the reports. According to previous announcements, he is due to arrive here at the end of March.