Albania PM Says Serbia Influenced Organ Trafficking Report

Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha has dismissed Dick Marty’s report on organ trafficking during the Kosovo war, saying it was influenced by Belgrade.

‘When I learned that the major part of the report was written [by Serb Prosecutor Vladimir] Vukcevic, I felt dismayed,’ Berisha said, responding to MPs’ questions in the General Assembly of the Council of Europe.

‘I was also disappointed by some racist nuances in the report,’ he added.

Dick Marty, the human rights rapporteur at the Council of Europe, released his report in December 2010.

In it he linked former KLA fighters, including Kosovo’s Prime Minister Hashim Thaci, to organised crime and accused them of harvesting the organs of Serbian prisoners and others in Albania during the Kosovo conflict.



Kosovo and Albania have denied the allegations but have agreed to participate in the international investigation into the claims.



In early May, Albania’s parliament passed a law giving the EU law mission, EULEX, powers to investigate allegations that the Kosovo Liberation Army, KLA, harvested organs of Serbian prisoners in Albania.

‘Our stance on this case is that the allegation should be fully investigated,’ Berisha concluded.