“Many countries knew about Thaci’s crimes”

CoE investigator Dick Marty told Swiss daily Le Temps that the majority of countries had been aware of the criminal activities of Kosovo PM Hashim Thaci. “Numerous reports of the intelligence services, the German, British, Italian, and Greek ones, as well as reports of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) were sent to various foreign ministries,” he explained. “Many countries knew about Thaci’s crimes” “They, however, gave priority to diplomatic policy, perhaps because they felt that the past should be left behind. The news is that somebody has published the reports,” Marty was quoted as saying. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights adopted Thursday Marty's report and draft resolution on the illicit trade in human organs in Kosovo and Albania. In his report about the human organ trafficking, Marty identified the current Kosovo PM as the leader of the mafia-style group involved in the criminal activities. He pointed out that Thaci had for certain period been persona non grata in Switzerland, which showed that Bern had known he was problematic, because a ban prohibiting somebody from entering a country was not issued against people who are absolutely trustworthy. The special rapporteur, however, admitted that Switzerland had played a pioneering role in recognizing an independent Kosovo in 2008, but he emphasized that the Committee on Foreign Affairs, headed by himself at the time, had thought it had been done too soon. Marty also recalled that only a few years before that, the international community considered the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) a terrorist movement. He added that there was plenty of documented information in his report which would suffice judicial authorities of any country to open independent and thorough investigations. The CoE investigator pointed out that everyone in Kosovo was aware of what had happened, but that everyone kept quiet because they felt intimidated to speak out, and added it should not be surprising, considering that many witnesses had been killed before they could testify. Dick Marty (Beta)

“Many countries knew about Thaci’s crimes”

“They, however, gave priority to diplomatic policy, perhaps because they felt that the past should be left behind. The news is that somebody has published the reports,” Marty was quoted as saying.

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights adopted Thursday Marty's report and draft resolution on the illicit trade in human organs in Kosovo and Albania.

In his report about the human organ trafficking, Marty identified the current Kosovo PM as the leader of the mafia-style group involved in the criminal activities.

He pointed out that Thaci had for certain period been persona non grata in Switzerland, which showed that Bern had known he was problematic, because a ban prohibiting somebody from entering a country was not issued against people who are absolutely trustworthy.

The special rapporteur, however, admitted that Switzerland had played a pioneering role in recognizing an independent Kosovo in 2008, but he emphasized that the Committee on Foreign Affairs, headed by himself at the time, had thought it had been done too soon.

Marty also recalled that only a few years before that, the international community considered the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) a terrorist movement.

He added that there was plenty of documented information in his report which would suffice judicial authorities of any country to open independent and thorough investigations.

The CoE investigator pointed out that everyone in Kosovo was aware of what had happened, but that everyone kept quiet because they felt intimidated to speak out, and added it should not be surprising, considering that many witnesses had been killed before they could testify.