Dick Marty to be called to testify in Medicus case

A court in Pristina decided on Wednesday to call former Swiss senator Dick Marty to testify in the Medicus clinic case. The case is based on accusations of organ trafficking and organized crime. Dick Marty to be called to testify in Medicus case The Municipal Court in Pristina accepted the proposal of EULEX Prosecutor Jonathan Ratel to call Marty as witness in the Medicus case, BIRN reported. Ratel submitted this request on March 23, adding that there are many reasons to believe that Marty possesses evidence relevant to the case. The Medicus case is based on claims that a group of people brought poor donors and rich recipients to the Medicus clinic near Pristina and organized and executed removal and transplants of organs. According to the indictment, a total of 30 illegal organ transplant operations were performed at the clinic, by luring people from poor parts of Istanbul, Moscow, Moldova and Kazakhstan, and making false promises that they will receive up to EUR 15,000 for their organs. A total of nine persons are accused of organ trafficking, organized crime and illegal medical practices, among whom is university professor Lufti Dervisi, who is charged with heading the operation. Lufti Dervisi, owner of the Medicus clinic, has recently accused BIRN and EULEX of slander, adding that the indictment against him and another six of his associates is politically motivated. In his capacity as Council of Europe (CoE) special rapporteur, Marty investigated a separate case of organ trafficking in Kosovo, and filed a damning report in late 2010. This case concerns accusations that in 1999 and 2000, ethnic Albanian KLA kidnapped Serb and other civilians in Kosovo, illegally imprisoned them in northern Albania, and harvested their body parts to sell them in the black market. The Marty report makes a connection between the perpetrators of these crimes, and the illegal transplants that happened at the Medicus clinic later the same decade. "We found a number of credible, convergent indications that the organ-trafficking component of the post-conflict detentions described in our report is closely related to the contemporary case of the Medicus clinic," the report said, and added that this was the case "not least" through prominent Kosovo Albanian and international personalities "who feature as co-conspirators in both". Dick Marty (Tanjug, file) B92 Tanjug BIRN

Dick Marty to be called to testify in Medicus case

The Municipal Court in Priština accepted the proposal of EULEX Prosecutor Jonathan Ratel to call Marty as witness in the Medicus case, BIRN reported.

Ratel submitted this request on March 23, adding that there are many reasons to believe that Marty possesses evidence relevant to the case.

The Medicus case is based on claims that a group of people brought poor donors and rich recipients to the Medicus clinic near Priština and organized and executed removal and transplants of organs.

According to the indictment, a total of 30 illegal organ transplant operations were performed at the clinic, by luring people from poor parts of Istanbul, Moscow, Moldova and Kazakhstan, and making false promises that they will receive up to EUR 15,000 for their organs.

A total of nine persons are accused of organ trafficking, organized crime and illegal medical practices, among whom is university professor Lufti Dervisi, who is charged with heading the operation.

Lufti Dervisi, owner of the Medicus clinic, has recently accused BIRN and EULEX of slander, adding that the indictment against him and another six of his associates is politically motivated.

In his capacity as Council of Europe (CoE) special rapporteur, Marty investigated a separate case of organ trafficking in Kosovo, and filed a damning report in late 2010. This case concerns accusations that in 1999 and 2000, ethnic Albanian KLA kidnapped Serb and other civilians in Kosovo, illegally imprisoned them in northern Albania, and harvested their body parts to sell them in the black market.

The Marty report makes a connection between the perpetrators of these crimes, and the illegal transplants that happened at the Medicus clinic later the same decade.

"We found a number of credible, convergent indications that the organ-trafficking component of the post-conflict detentions described in our report is closely related to the contemporary case of the Medicus clinic," the report said, and added that this was the case "not least" through prominent Kosovo Albanian and international personalities "who feature as co-conspirators in both".