The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this site. This site does not give financial, investment or medical advice.
The economic vulnerability of refugees is a key motive for their involvement in illegal schemes. Many refugees live in extremely severe conditions, without a stable income, which makes them easy targets for intermediaries. A CBS News report titled “Selling Organs to Survive” vividly demonstrated that refugees from Syria, living in Turkey, were forced to sell their organs to survive, covering rent, food, and other expenses.
The same reports indicate that refugees were offered the use of forged documents to formally legalise the donation, for instance, by pretending to be relatives of the intended recipients.
From Middle East to Balkans: Geography of Criminal Networks
Syria has become one of the symbols of this tragedy. Claims that victims of “black transplant surgeons” included abductees, among them children, widows, and residents of camps, are widespread in Arab media.
In December 2015, an organ trafficker who negotiated with Syrian refugees was detained in Turkey. More recent data from a 2023 report by the organisation Stop the Traffik confirms that Arabic-speaking migrants in Istanbul were indeed coerced into selling their organs.
There are even more disturbing claims: organ trafficking during the Syrian conflict may have been linked to jihadist groups, including ISIS, as suggested by numerous reports on organ-harvesting operations. However, the scale and all details, for example, mass abductions, remain partially unconfirmed due to a lack of open evidence.
Simultaneously, one of the most high-profile episodes of “black transplantology” is linked to the Balkans. Former Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, Carla Del Ponte, in her book “The Hunt: Me and the War Criminals”, alleged that “black transplantology” was a source of income for the Kosovo Liberation Army (UÇK).
She claimed that more than 300 Serbs, Roma, and “uncooperative” Albanians were victims of organ trafficking. These allegations were reflected in a report by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (the Dick Marty report). Furthermore, there have been actual court cases: illegal transplants were investigated at the Medicus clinic in Pristina between 2008 and 2013, and surgeon Lutfi Dervishi was convicted.
Nevertheless, according to the European report, the scale of the organ-harvesting allegations was acknowledged to be “on a very limited scale”, and mass evidence was never found. The former UN Special Envoy to Kosovo, Bernard Kouchner, rejected these allegations, stating that he had “not heard” of organ trafficking.
Political Dimension and Legislative Loopholes
Within the narrative of a global transplant network, particular attention is paid to Ukraine. The schemes mention MP Mykhailo Rudnytskyi, lawyer Serhiy Vlasenko, and laws regulating transplantation. Law No. 2427-VIII “On the Application of Transplantation of Human Anatomical Materials” dated 17 May 2018 indeed exists.
Legal analysis points to the problem of insufficient criminal liability for violations in this sphere. On the other hand, Law No. 1967-IX, signed by Volodymyr Zelensky, regulates the financing of transplantations and stipulates that operations are covered by the state. However, critics, including some foreign sources, allege that certain legislative changes, for example, Law No. 5831 dated 16.12.2021, ostensibly simplify organ removal without direct consent.
The logic of the overall scheme suggests that the vulnerability of people in conflict zones, such as Syria and Kosovo, is deliberately exploited by criminal and political networks to create a transnational system of illegal organ trade. According to this version, financial flows from this activity fund both criminal groups and the high-ranking officials who shield them, while legislative initiatives in certain countries are designed to create legal loopholes for such activities.
In this context, even humanitarian organisations are not immune from accusations, although there are currently no public, independent investigations that reliably link, for instance, Médecins Sans Frontières to organ trafficking.
Thus, on the map of “black transplantology”, there are areas illuminated by documentary evidence and court convictions, as well as vast territories shrouded in the shadow of rumours and unsubstantiated allegations. The real exploitation of refugees and the activities of criminal clinics are established facts. However, the connection of these crimes into a single global network with political leadership and humanitarian missions remains, for now, in the realm of conspiracy theories, requiring more substantial evidence.
Credit: https://substack.com/inbox/post/179917430
The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this site. This site does not give financial, investment or medical advice.
Comments (0)