Investigator: Officials knew of Kosovo organ trade

PRISTINA, Kosovo — An investigator who alleged that the Kosovo Liberation Army was trafficking human kidneys said Thursday that Western police and intelligence officers in the area knew of the grisly trade, as a top Kosovo official said the country's prime minister planned to sue for libel.

Council of Europe investigator Dick Marty, a Swiss senator whose report has rocked Kosovo, told reporters that "inhuman" treatment of people and illicit trafficking of human organs in the immediate aftermath of the country's war for independence from Serbia remains unpunished.

He claimed intelligence and police services were aware of the crimes but chose to remain silent for fear of causing political instability in the volatile region.

"I saw in the eyes of several people the terror to have to talk about these cases. But soon, we discovered that these things were known by intelligence services from the different countries," Marty said. "It was known by police services. It was known by numerous people who, in private, would say yes we know but for political reasons we made the choice or we have the duty to remain silent."

Marty's report, made public Tuesday, alleged that civilian detainees of the KLA rebels were shot to death to sell their kidneys on the black market and suggesting that Thaci was once the "boss" of a criminal underworld behind the grisly trade.

Earlier Thursday, a top Kosovo official said Prime Minister Hashim Thaci is planning to sue Marty for libel. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, said that Thaci has contacted attorneys to consult them, and is also considering suing the London-based Guardian newspaper, which first published the report.

The allegations have been dismissed by Kosovo authorities as driven by a Serb-inspired agenda to undermine Kosovo's statehood. Kosovo declared independence in 2008, but Serbia has refused to recognize its sovereignty.

Serbia's war crimes prosecutors expressed their "satisfaction" Thursday with Marty's report and added that their investigation of organ trafficking in the region represents "an important source" of the report.

"This day is very important for the (Serbian) prosecution because we have been working on this case for a long time," Serbia's war crimes Prosecutor Vladimir Vukcevic said.

He claimed that up to 500 people have been the victims of this "classic organized crime" operation, of which 400 were Serbs while the rest are other non-Albanians.