EULEX still awaits evidence in organ trade case

EULEX says a preliminary probe is still trying to establish whether enough evidence existed to begin a formal investigation into human organ trade allegations. Months after Dick Marty’s report accused Kosovo's top leaders of human organ trafficking, the mission says it can only launch an official investigation if enough hard evidence is received, and no specific persons are as yet under the spotlight. EULEX still awaits evidence in organ trade case EULEX said that anyone who had evidence to support the grave accusations made in the report, including Marty, needed first to come forward and submit their findings to EULEX prosecutors. "We have exchanged letters with Mr. Marty. We have not yet received any hard evidence from him," a EULEX spokesperson told Balkan Insight. "At this stage we have nothing more to add. When we have more to say, we will say it," the spokesperson added. The report caused a bombshell when it was released in December, as it linked former Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) fighters, including the current Prime Minister Hashim Thaci, to organized crime and accused them of harvesting the organs of Serbian prisoners and others in Albania. But Marty has refused to provide any evidence for his claims to the EU mission in Kosovo, saying the mission was not up to handling the investigation and thus an "ad hoc" judicial structure needed to be set up, which would operate outside Kosovo. EULEX disputes this. "We have full confidence in our own witness protection unit, which has already shown itself capable of handling high-level and sensitive cases," EULEX said. Serbia, meanwhile, has sent a proposal to the UN asking the international body to launch an independent investigation into the allegations. EULEX officers

EULEX still awaits evidence in organ trade case

EULEX said that anyone who had evidence to support the grave accusations made in the report, including Marty, needed first to come forward and submit their findings to EULEX prosecutors.

"We have exchanged letters with Mr. Marty. We have not yet received any hard evidence from him," a EULEX spokesperson told Balkan Insight.

"At this stage we have nothing more to add. When we have more to say, we will say it," the spokesperson added.

The report caused a bombshell when it was released in December, as it linked former Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) fighters, including the current Prime Minister Hashim Thaci, to organized crime and accused them of harvesting the organs of Serbian prisoners and others in Albania.

But Marty has refused to provide any evidence for his claims to the EU mission in Kosovo, saying the mission was not up to handling the investigation and thus an "ad hoc" judicial structure needed to be set up, which would operate outside Kosovo.

EULEX disputes this. "We have full confidence in our own witness protection unit, which has already shown itself capable of handling high-level and sensitive cases," EULEX said.

Serbia, meanwhile, has sent a proposal to the UN asking the international body to launch an independent investigation into the allegations.