Κosovo organ trafficking scandal

guardian, cnn, telegraph

-Kosovo physicians accused of organ trafficking racket
A gang of Kosovan organ traffickers operated an elaborate international network that traded in the organs of people living in extreme poverty, a court heard.
6:42PM GMT 14 Dec 2010
The men, including a former senior Kosovan Health Ministry official, promised poor people from Moldova, Kazakhstan, Russia and Turkey up to €14,500 (£12,300) for their organs. ...more...
telegraph.co.uk
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/kosovo/8202149/Kosovo-physicians-accused-of-organ-trafficking-racket.html

-Kosovo's prime minister 'key player in mafia-like gang'
Kosovo's prime minister, Hashim Thaci, was the head of a "mafia-like" organised crime ring in the late 1990s that was involved in organ trafficking, assassinations and other crimes, according to an investigation by the Council of Europe.
11:12PM GMT 14 Dec 2010
A draft report, released a day after Kosovo's election commission said Mr Thaci's party won the first post-independence election on Sunday, accused Western powers of complicity in ignoring the activities of the crime ring headed by Mr Thaci. ...more...
telegraph.co.uk
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/kosovo/8202700/Kosovos-prime-minister-key-player-in-mafia-like-gang.html

-Kosovo must probe organ harvesting accusation, official says (video)
By the CNN Wire Staff
December 16, 2010 -- Updated 1934 GMT (0334 HKT)
Paris (CNN) -- Authorities in Kosovo must conduct a "tough, independent investigation" into allegations of organ harvesting from prisoners of war, a leading European human rights activist demanded Thursday.
"These things were known by intelligence agencies in various countries, by police, by many people," said Dick Marty, whose report into the allegations was approved by a Council of Europe committee Thursday....more...
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe/12/16/kosovo.organs/index.html

-Κosovo organ trafficking scandal (video)

Added On December 16, 2010
CNN's Jill Dougherty reports on allegations the Kosovo Liberation Army trafficked prisoners' organs....more...
http://edition.cnn.com/video/#/video/world/2010/12/16/dougherty.kosovo.organ.trafficking.cnn

-Kosovo militia may have stolen prisoners' organs, report alleges (video)
By the CNN Wire Staff
December 16, 2010 -- Updated 1206 GMT (2006 HKT)
(CNN) -- The authorities who control Kosovo may have stolen organs from prisoners of war and political rivals when the Kosovo Liberation Army was fighting Serbian forces for control of the territory, European authorities allege in a new report.
"Numerous indications seem to confirm that ... organs were removed from some prisoners ... to be taken abroad for transplantation," according to a draft report from the Council of Europe.
Investigators have "made progress" toward "proving the existence of secret KLA places of detention in northern Albania where inhuman treatment and even murders are said to have been committed," draft author Dick Marty says....more...
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe/12/15/kosovo.organs/index.html

-EU poised to investigate Kosovo PM over 'organ trafficking' (video)
The European Union is poised to investigate allegations that Hashim Thaci, the Kosovo prime minister, is involved in an organ trafficking ring.
7:00AM GMT 16 Dec 2010
A Council of Europe report has accused Mr Thaci of heading a group within the ethnic-Albanian guerrilla Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), which fought Serbia in 1998 and 1999, that set up a network of unofficial prisons in Albania.
It alleges one of Mr Thaci's allies operated a ring for the "forcible extraction of human organs for the purposes of trafficking" from the prisoners, mainly Serbs....more...
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/kosovo/8205260/EU-poised-to-investigate-Kosovo-PM-over-organ-trafficking.html

-The doctor at the heart of Kosovo's organ scandal
As Kosovo's prime minister denies links to organ trafficking, 'Doctor Vampire' is the subject of an international manhunt
Paul Lewis in Pristina
guardian.co.uk, Friday 17 December 2010 20.43 GMT
The Turkish donor and the Israeli recipient were laid down on beds beside each other before the kidney was exchanged. Both men would later confirm that their eyes met for a brief few seconds before the anaesthetic took effect.
Yilman Altun, 23, was the desperate young Turk who said he was promised a rich reward for his organ by a broker in Istanbul. Alongside him lay Bezalel Shafran, a 74-year-old Israeli who had paid £76,400 for the black-market kidney he hoped would prolong his life....more...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/dec/17/kosovo-medicus-organ-clinic

-Kosovo's prime minister denies 'mafia' claims
Council of Europe report accused Hashim Thaci of leading criminal organisation linked to organ trafficking
Paul Lewis
guardian.co.uk, Friday 17 December 2010 20.09 GMT
Kosovo's prime minister has strongly denied allegations that he was the leader of a "mafia-like" criminal organisation with links to organ and drug smuggling....more...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/dec/17/kosovo-pm-denies-mafia-claims

-Kosovo organ donor ring: the Israeli connection
Most international trafficking rings have involved wealthy Israeli patients on 'transplant tours'
Paul Lewis
guardian.co.uk, Friday 17 December 2010 19.50 GMT
It is fitting that the man described as the "fixer" in Kosovo's alleged organ ring was an Israeli of Turkish descent. Moshe Harel, a fugitive wanted by Interpol in connection with the case, is accused of matching potential donors recruited in Turkey with recipients, many if not all of whom had connections with Israel.
The Israeli market for donor livers has been well-documented, and most international trafficking rings have involved wealthy Israeli patients on so-called "transplant tours". Organ donation in Israel is low due to concerns in the Orthodox community about the body after death....more...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/dec/17/kosovo-organ-donor-ring-israel

-Endorsement for report alleging Kosovo PM links to organ trade racket
Report claims Hashim Thaci, Kosovo's PM, was 'the boss' of a mafia-like organisation that killed people for organs
Paul Lewis
The Guardian, Friday 17 December 2010
An official report accusing Kosovo's prime minister of links to a "mafia-like" network that killed captives in order to sell their organs on the black market was yesterday endorsed by a Council of Europe committee....more...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/dec/17/endorsement-kosovo-organ-trade

-Leave Kosovo to decide its future
The Guardian, Saturday 18 December 2010
One question emerging from the publication of Dick Marty's report (Kosovo's PM 'controls illegal trade in organs', 15 December) is why has it take so long to produce. Perhaps because the US and her allies knew about the allegations, but for the sake of stability wanted to ignore them....more...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/dec/18/kosovo-to-decide-its-future

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guardian, cnn, telegraph