Prishtina – Kosovo doctor Lutfi Dervishi, suspected of involvement in an organ trafficking ring that performed dozens of illegal kidney transplants between 2006 and 2008, appeared on Thursday before the Basic Court of Pristina. In January 2017 The Supreme Court of Kosovo ordered a retrial in the so called “Medicus” case.

The trial of Kosovo doctor Lutfi Dervishi, his son Arban, and anaesthesiologist, Sokol Hajdini began on Thursday at the Basic Court of Pristina, after the Supreme Court of Kosovo ordered a retrial in the so called “Medicus” case in January 2017 on the basis of procedural irregularities.

In 2013 the Basic Court of Pristina sentenced Lutfi Dervishi, an urologist and the director of the clinic at the centre of the trafficking ring, to eight years in prison. His son Arban Dervishi was sentenced to seven years and three months. In 2016 the Court of Appeals upheld the judgment of the first instance court. However a decision of the Supreme Court towards the end of 2016 annulled the judgments of first and second instances and ordered a retrial for the “Medicus” case.

Following the judgment of the Court of Appeals in 2016 both Lutfi Dervishi and his son evaded prosecution and were considered as fugitives. However, in January 2017 Lutfi Dervishi was arrested by the Kosovo Police and sent to detention after spending months as fugitive. His son is still at large. His lawyer has stated during today’s session that the whereabouts of his client remains unknown.

According to the indictment filed by a EULEX prosecutor, kidney donors from Turkey and impoverished parts of the former Soviet Union were promised 10,000-12,000 euros, while recipients, mainly Israelis, paid 80,000-100,000 euros for the organs, stated during the first trial. The Medicus verdict was the highest-profile case handled by EU prosecutors and judges who arrived in Kosovo in 2008 to handle sensitive cases such as war crimes, organized crime and corruption.