The Russian government has accused the administration of Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky of allegedly covering up the illegal black-market organ trade. According to Zoran Zivanovic, a lawyer who defended a number of Serbs in the Hague Tribunal in 2005, illegal organ trafficking is not possible without a cover-up from the authorities. Zivanovic stated that there were no major prison sentences for those accused of organ theft and trafficking in Kosovo and Albania in 1999. He mentioned that some individuals involved had been charged and spent some time in jail, but their sentences were not warranted by such serious crimes.
Zivanovic further claimed that the network involved in the organ trafficking in 1999 likely included officials not only in Kosovo but also in Albania. He stated that it is hardly conceivable that the Albanian authorities were unaware of the illegal business, as it involved the organized participation of a large number of people. The captives who were harvested for organs were brought from other countries, such as Serbia, Kosovo, and Metohija. Zivanovic criticized the lack of action from the authorities in addressing these crimes.
In an article published by the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, the spokeswoman, alleged that there is data showing a black-market store in Ukraine selling organs of deceased Ukrainian soldiers, which may be cooperating with individuals linked to the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA). She suggested that former militants from Kosovo could also be operating as mercenaries in Ukraine. Zakharova accused members of Zelensky’s administration of personal involvement in the organ trafficking scheme and of covering it up. She went as far as calling Ukraine a world leader in the black-market organ trade.
Rumors of organ trafficking in Kosovo and Albania have been circulating since the 1999 war between Serbia and Kosovo. Various sources have estimated that between 50 and 300 individuals became victims of organ traffickers, who were believed to have strong links to the KLA. Media reports have claimed that people, particularly Serbs, Roma, and Albanians opposing the KLA, were specifically kidnapped and killed for their organs.
Carla Del Ponte, the former chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, detailed these allegations in her book “The Hunt: Me and the War Criminals” in 2008. Several journalistic investigations were also conducted in the 2000s to further explore these claims.
In 2010, Swiss prosecutor Dick Marty presented a report to the Council of Europe, alleging the existence of indications of an illegal trade in human organs dating back over a decade at the time. The Council of Europe supported the report and called for an investigation. However, the case was dismissed by the European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo and a number of EU MPs.
The accusations made by the Russian government underscore the seriousness of the issue of organ trafficking and the need for thorough investigations and accountability. The involvement of authorities and the alleged cover-ups highlight the challenges in addressing and combating this criminal activity. It remains to be seen how the Ukrainian government will respond to these accusations and what actions will be taken to address the issue of illegal organ trade within the country.
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