Wednesday, February 1, 2012

NATO “thwarted” organ trade investigation


BELGRADE -- Former Hague Tribunal Chief Prosecutor Carla Del Ponte has stated that NATO thwarted the investigation into the human organ trafficking in Kosovo.
Carla Del Ponte
Carla Del Ponte
She added that the real truth could be revealed only in an UN-led probe.
“The international community had to react after the report by (Council of Europe Special Rapporteur) Dick Marty, but the real truth about these allegations could only be revealed in an UN-led probe,” Del Ponte told Belgrade-based weekly Nedeljnik.

She added that there was a lack of political will to resolve this case because the situation in Kosovo was still very fragile.

When asked whether she felt responsible for the destruction of evidence from Yellow house late in 2005, Del Ponte said that this was a big mistake and that it was done without previous consultations with her.

“I was really shocked when I learned from the media that the evidence was destroyed. However, I do not feel responsible as I was not authorized to lead the investigation,” the former prosecutor was quoted as saying.

Del Ponte said that she knows who ordered the destruction of evidence as she was in constant contact with her successor Serge Brammertz, but that this information should be now searched in the office of the Hague Tribunal chief prosecutor.

When asked about the fact that she had an insight into the UNMIK confidential report on crimes in the Yellow house back in 2004 but the investigation was suspended, Del Ponte said that the prosecution was not able to continue the probe due to numerous obstacles.

“NATO and UNMIK did not allow us to see important files, while Albania did not let us enter its territory and inspect graves,” she noted.

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