Kosovo EU Mission 'Ready' for KLA Organ Probe

Responding to claims by Dick Marty that EULEX cannot effectively investigate allegations of organ trafficking by the Kosovo Liberation Army, KLA, the mission said it understood "concerns about witness protection in the region", but added: "We have full confidence in our own witness protection unit.

"We are ready, willing and able to assume that responsibility,” the mission said in a press release.

EULEX said past experience had shown it was capable of handling high-level, sensitive cases, adding that as a rule-of-law mission, "we work on the basis of fact and evidence".

EULEX said prosecutors were ready to work on the case as soon as they received the relevant information from Swiss senator Dick Marty, adding: "Without evidence, prosecutions cannot take place".

The mission has already looked into allegations that, during the Kosovo conflict, KLA commanders used the so-called "Yellow House" in northern Albania to harvest the organs of abducted prisoners but found no evidence to support the claims.

“EULEX calls on all relevant organizations and individuals, including Dick Marty, to present what evidence they have in regard to these serious accusations,” press release said.

In a recent interview for Balkan Insight, Marty said witnesses needed guarantees of protection if they were to speak out. When they received those safeguards, "I will ask the witnesses to agree to testify", Marty said.