– Inhuman treatment of prisoners in informal camps and illicit trafficking in human organs in Kosovo and Albania are terrible crimes. All alleged perpetrators, including Prime Minister Hashim Thaci and his “Drenica group”, must be thoroughly, efficiently and impartially investigated by competent authorities, says Bjørn Engesland, Secretary-General of the Norwegian Helsinki Committee.
-The Norwegian Helsinki Committee has long advocated for the rule of law to be the highest priority for the international community in Kosovo, says Engesland, and calls for the Council of Europe to throw its full weight behind the report and that investigation and prosecution of these crimes will be prioritized by all competent authorities.
The report “Inhuman treatment of people and illicit trafficking in human organs in Kosovo” by Dick Marty, rapporteur for the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, documents crimes against Kosovo Serbs and other persons believed to have assisted Serbia during the conflict in 1999. It implicates very clearly the Kosovo Liberation Army and some of its leaders in the crimes, and it criticizes international organizations governing Kosovo for having refrained from prosecuting former KLA commanders, choosing short-term political stability over the rule of law.