He explored Haradinaj, found the “yellow house”

Ramush Haradinaj, Photo: AP

This is what Vladimir Vukčević, a former war crimes prosecutor for the Republic of Serbia, says. He was probably one of the first to receive documentation on the research in Albania made by The Hague and UNMIK on the “yellow house”.

The investigation against Hardinaj leads to the “yellow house”

Vukcevic explains that the evidence for the “yellow house” emerged during The Hague’s investigation against Ramush Haradinaj.

“Everything that was found in Albania was photographed and it was determined in the place that there was medical waste and blood that, according to the local Albanians, was animal blood. However, the forensic expert José Barabar was also on that team. he immediately said it was human blood when he took the sample. After that, all these medical waste was photographed, collected and taken to the Court in The Hague, “says Vukčević.

According to our interlocutor, when it was determined that the evidence taken to The Hague had nothing to do with the Haradinaj case, that material failed.

The former prosecutor affirms that the head of the investigator was Patrick Lofer, and that the Peruvian pathologist José Pablo Barabar and the American journalist Montgomery were there, accompanied by members of KFOR.

The remains of the victims are buried in 11 places in Albania

The interlocutor states that he had good cooperation with the Hague Tribunal at that time and that he received all Albanian photographic documentation from them, but not as official.

As soon as I received it, I immediately went through everything through our well-known doctor, who explained to me based on the medical waste seen in the photos, as well as the names of the medications that were mentioned for muscle relaxation during transplants. of organs. It was a sign that something like this had actually been done. In order to react officially, I officially asked the UN Security Council for this photographic documentation and sent it to them, “explains Vukčević.
The former prosecutor goes on to say that the then legal advisor to the US embassy, ​​San Lázaro, who was also the prosecutor himself and with whom he had a correct relationship, heard that something was happening and came to see what it was about.

“I showed him all the documentation and Hashim Thaci’s name was mentioned there for the first time, even though it was his favorite at the time.” They asked me about our next move and I told them we would check it, because in the meantime we received information from that the remains of people whose organs were extracted were buried in 11 locations in Albania, ”says our interlocutor.

Albanian prosecutor refuses to cooperate

Vukčević further says that the Americans arranged his visit to Tirana to meet with their prosecutor Ina Rama, whom he asked to verify that information together.

“He asked for three days to think a bit, but when we returned they informed us that they would not collaborate with us on this matter. After that, I went to the European Parliament where I brought up this issue. And there was Dick Marty, then rapporteur for human rights in the Council of Europe, who approached me and was interested. After that, he came to Belgrade and I gave him everything we had, he checked it in the field and determined that everything we found was true. The only thing that has not been done is the exhumation of the remains because the Albanians did not allow it, ”says Vukčević.

The interlocutor also recalls that a decision was subsequently made on the formation of the Special Prosecutor’s Office, headed by Clint Williamson and later David Schwendiman. Vukcevic says that Williamson previously, with logistical support from Serbia, heard between 200 and 300 witnesses related to that case at the premises of the Special Prosecutor’s Office in Ustanicka.

“He then received confirmation of these accusations and then a final decision was made on the establishment of the KLA Special War Crimes Tribunal,” reveals Vukcevic.

In 2011, an EU special investigation team was formed to conduct an independent investigation into the Dick Marty allegations. The first chief prosecutor of that team was the American Clint Williamson, and in 2014 he was replaced by David Schwendimen, also an American. In September 2018, Jack Smith was appointed as specialized prosecutor, who during his legal career in the United States has been investigating high-profile political crimes for a long time, and from 2008 to 2010 he was the investigative coordinator in the Office of the International Criminal Court. .