Marty: Serbia should also investigate

Serbia's judiciary is also competent to investigate the human organ trafficking, Council of Europe (CoE) rapporteur Dick Marty has stated. “I think that different competent authorities should investigate everything now,” he told daily Vecernje novosti. Marty: Serbia should also investigate Marty pointed out that he meant “judiciary in Kosovo, international judicial authorities but also Serbian judiciary, which is also competent since there certainly were Serbian victims”. “The problem is that witnesses are not protected, something we unfortunately had an opportunity to see so far. There were witnesses who were killed,” he was quoted as saying. “Therefore, one should not be surprised that there are people who know but do not want to speak to the state authorities. Witnesses are never going to talk under these conditions because there have been many murders,” the CoE investigator stressed. He also said that “he is not sure” that EULEX was competent in this case. “Jurisdiction in the investigation is one of the problems that remains to be solved. My report presented some facts and it’s up to competent authorities now to find a solution for this problem,” Marty explained. “Residents of Kosovo, regardless of the community they belong to, have the right to know the truth. I do not think that a future of a community can be built on unspoken truths,” he noted. When asked whether he was concerned about Kosovo PM Hashim Thaci’s lawsuit, the CoE rapporteur said that “Thaci knows very well that CoE rapporteurs have immunity and that filing a lawsuit in these cases does not mean anything”. “It’s easy to sue somebody, it is primarily necessary to do everything in order to see what happened,” Marty pointed out. When asked whether former first UNMIK Chief Bernard Kouchner could have been aware of the human organ trade, the CoE rapporteur said that: “I do not dare to imagine that he was aware! I think that he has already answered that question”. “Many people knew that there were criminal activities. Now, what was the level of knowledge he had, I really do not know,” he was quoted as saying. “I only know that intelligence agencies were sending reports that I have personally seen. These agencies, naturally, are informing their countries’ political authorities about what they have found out,” Marty stressed. “There are countries whose authorities were very uncomfortable reading these reports. But all this does not have anything to do with my work because it goes into political aspect,” he concluded. Investigations have not been launched in Kosovo and Albania so far and Serbia is therefore ready to lobby ahead of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) meeting on January 25, 2011. “UNMIK is no longer included in investigations on war crimes in Kosovo and all UNMIK's information about the cases were submitted to EULEX,” UNMIK Spokesman Olivier Salgado told Tanjug on Wednesday. UNMIK is no longer included either in war crime investigations or in court proceedings, as all activities from the Resolution 1244 regarding the rule of law will now be carried out by EULEX. He pointed out that all UNMIK's information regarding the allegations were submitted to EULEX. Salgado did not wish to comment on the statement of former head of UNMIK's Regional Serious Crime Unit Stu Kellock that Kouchner had been regularly informed and must have known about organized crime in Kosovo. Dick Marty (Tanjug, file) "EU takes Marty’s report seriously" “The EU takes CoE rapporteur Dick Marty's allegations on organ trafficking in Kosovo very seriously,” Head of the EU delegation to Serbia Vincent Degert has stated, adding that it was now up to EULEX to investigate the issue. Degert stressed that no one was above the law, as it was shown in Medicus case, in which five persons in Kosovo were awaiting trial for organ trafficking charges. “It is not up to us to judge whether someone will have a political future after the accusations that were made, but rather up to the prosecution to react,” he responded to the question whether the current Kosovo PM would still be able to engage in politics after being accused of having organized organ trafficking.

Marty: Serbia should also investigate

Marty pointed out that he meant “judiciary in Kosovo, international judicial authorities but also Serbian judiciary, which is also competent since there certainly were Serbian victims”.

“The problem is that witnesses are not protected, something we unfortunately had an opportunity to see so far. There were witnesses who were killed,” he was quoted as saying.

“Therefore, one should not be surprised that there are people who know but do not want to speak to the state authorities. Witnesses are never going to talk under these conditions because there have been many murders,” the CoE investigator stressed.

He also said that “he is not sure” that EULEX was competent in this case.

“Jurisdiction in the investigation is one of the problems that remains to be solved. My report presented some facts and it’s up to competent authorities now to find a solution for this problem,” Marty explained.

“Residents of Kosovo, regardless of the community they belong to, have the right to know the truth. I do not think that a future of a community can be built on unspoken truths,” he noted.

When asked whether he was concerned about Kosovo PM Hashim Thaci’s lawsuit, the CoE rapporteur said that “Thaci knows very well that CoE rapporteurs have immunity and that filing a lawsuit in these cases does not mean anything”.

“It’s easy to sue somebody, it is primarily necessary to do everything in order to see what happened,” Marty pointed out.

When asked whether former first UNMIK Chief Bernard Kouchner could have been aware of the human organ trade, the CoE rapporteur said that: “I do not dare to imagine that he was aware! I think that he has already answered that question”.

“Many people knew that there were criminal activities. Now, what was the level of knowledge he had, I really do not know,” he was quoted as saying.

“I only know that intelligence agencies were sending reports that I have personally seen. These agencies, naturally, are informing their countries’ political authorities about what they have found out,” Marty stressed.

“There are countries whose authorities were very uncomfortable reading these reports. But all this does not have anything to do with my work because it goes into political aspect,” he concluded.

Investigations have not been launched in Kosovo and Albania so far and Serbia is therefore ready to lobby ahead of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) meeting on January 25, 2011.

“UNMIK is no longer included in investigations on war crimes in Kosovo and all UNMIK's information about the cases were submitted to EULEX,” UNMIK Spokesman Olivier Salgado told Tanjug on Wednesday.

UNMIK is no longer included either in war crime investigations or in court proceedings, as all activities from the Resolution 1244 regarding the rule of law will now be carried out by EULEX.

He pointed out that all UNMIK's information regarding the allegations were submitted to EULEX.

Salgado did not wish to comment on the statement of former head of UNMIK's Regional Serious Crime Unit Stu Kellock that Kouchner had been regularly informed and must have known about organized crime in Kosovo.

"EU takes Marty’s report seriously"

“The EU takes CoE rapporteur Dick Marty's allegations on organ trafficking in Kosovo very seriously,” Head of the EU delegation to Serbia Vincent Degert has stated, adding that it was now up to EULEX to investigate the issue.

Degert stressed that no one was above the law, as it was shown in Medicus case, in which five persons in Kosovo were awaiting trial for organ trafficking charges.

“It is not up to us to judge whether someone will have a political future after the accusations that were made, but rather up to the prosecution to react,” he responded to the question whether the current Kosovo PM would still be able to engage in politics after being accused of having organized organ trafficking.