Prosecutor: One of KLA victims identified

War Crimes Prosecutor Vladimir Vukcevic says his office has so far likely identified ten possible perpetrators of crimes against the Kosovo Serbs. The crimes pertain to the 1999 kidnappings of hundreds Serbs and other non Albanians in the province, who were then allegedly taken to northern Albania, to have their vital organs removed. Prosecutor: One of KLA victims identified The organizers of this crime are believed to be members of the so-called Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA). Today in Belgrade, Vukcevic addressed the Serbian public via a news conference to say that besides the executors, one of the victims was positively identified based on the photographs the prosecution has obtained. The victim is Kosovo Serb civilian Predrag Dragovic, a native of Pec, who went missing on June 22, 1999. Dragovic's son Rade, who attended the news conference, identified him. Vukcevic said that the content of the graphic photograph leads to a conclusion that the victim was forced to put on an army uniform before the execution, to hide the fact that he was a civilian. Rade Dragovic confirmed that his father was a civilian who never took part in military activities, and that he went missing in June 1999, when he went to a local grocery. Since 2002, he has been officially listed as missing. Vukcevic confirmed reports earlier today that beside the yellow house, mentioned as the location where the kidnapped Serbs' organs were removed in northern Albania, three more such locations existed. The prosecutor said that his findings show some 300 people were held, operated on and killed in those structures. He confirmed that his office will once again ask their Tirana counterparts to cooperate on the organ trafficking case investigation. "If the Albanian side does not agree to cooperate, we will turn to the international community," he told reporters, and reminded that Council of Europe Special Rapporteur in the case Dick Marty will arrive here at the end of the month. Prosecution spokesman Bruno Vekaric, who also attended the news conference, said that new material on the crimes committed in northern Albania is arriving daily, and that this investigation must not halt and leave the criminals unpunished. He also said that the prosecution now has a complete UNMIK report from 2004 on the medical materials found in the yellow house that year. It was announced several months ago that some pages were missing from the original report. Serbia has officially asked the UN to send the complete report to Belgrade. Vekaric said there is irrefutable evidence that private prisons existed in the area, to which people were taken to suffer monstrous surgical procedures. Several photographs, some with graphic content showing the victims and executors, were shown to journalists today. The War Crimes Prosecution began an investigation at the end of March 2008 into the illegal sale of organs extracted from about 300 kidnapped Kosovo Serbs. The investigation began after former Chief Hague Prosecutor Carla Del Ponte mentioned the subject in her book, released last year. The image of the victim is projected on the wall behind Vekaric and Vukcevic (Tanjug)

Prosecutor: One of KLA victims identified

The organizers of this crime are believed to be members of the so-called Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA).

Today in Belgrade, Vukčević addressed the Serbian public via a news conference to say that besides the executors, one of the victims was positively identified based on the photographs the prosecution has obtained.

The victim is Kosovo Serb civilian Predrag Dragović, a native of Peć, who went missing on June 22, 1999.

Dragović's son Rade, who attended the news conference, identified him. Vukčević said that the content of the graphic photograph leads to a conclusion that the victim was forced to put on an army uniform before the execution, to hide the fact that he was a civilian.

Rade Dragović confirmed that his father was a civilian who never took part in military activities, and that he went missing in June 1999, when he went to a local grocery. Since 2002, he has been officially listed as missing.

Vukčević confirmed reports earlier today that beside the yellow house, mentioned as the location where the kidnapped Serbs' organs were removed in northern Albania, three more such locations existed.

The prosecutor said that his findings show some 300 people were held, operated on and killed in those structures.

He confirmed that his office will once again ask their Tirana counterparts to cooperate on the organ trafficking case investigation.

"If the Albanian side does not agree to cooperate, we will turn to the international community," he told reporters, and reminded that Council of Europe Special Rapporteur in the case Dick Marty will arrive here at the end of the month.

Prosecution spokesman Bruno Vekarić, who also attended the news conference, said that new material on the crimes committed in northern Albania is arriving daily, and that this investigation must not halt and leave the criminals unpunished.

He also said that the prosecution now has a complete UNMIK report from 2004 on the medical materials found in the yellow house that year. It was announced several months ago that some pages were missing from the original report. Serbia has officially asked the UN to send the complete report to Belgrade.

Vekarić said there is irrefutable evidence that private prisons existed in the area, to which people were taken to suffer monstrous surgical procedures.

Several photographs, some with graphic content showing the victims and executors, were shown to journalists today.

The War Crimes Prosecution began an investigation at the end of March 2008 into the illegal sale of organs extracted from about 300 kidnapped Kosovo Serbs. The investigation began after former Chief Hague Prosecutor Carla Del Ponte mentioned the subject in her book, released last year.