Court refuses bail to Israeli organ trafficking suspect

Larnaca district court refused bail on Thursday to an Israeli man accused of being involved in an organ trafficking ring.

The suspect, Moshe Harel, 67, was arrested at Larnaca airport last month after two international warrants had been issued against him – one from Russia in December last year, and another by the international criminal court as he was wanted by authorities in Kosovo.

He has been wanted by Interpol for 10 years.

The court said Harel should remain in Nicosia central prisons until February 5 when his extradition process to Russia is set to begin.

The suspect had requested he be allowed bail but the judge refused, saying there was a risk Harel could go to the north.

Turkish born Harel is wanted for his apparent involvement in a human organ trafficking ring from 2006 – 2010 in Russia and Kosovo.

He is accused of promising potential donors, from Turkey and the ex-Soviet Union, up to €12,000 and were then sent to the Medicus on the outskirts of Pristina, Kosovo.

Some donors never received their money and most recipients were Israelis, who paid between €80,000 to €100,000 for the organs.

The issue came to light in 2008, when a Turkish man was stopped at Pristina airport in obvious pain after he had his kidney removed.

The director of the clinic, urologist Lutfi Dervishi, was sentenced to eight years in jail for organised crime and human trafficking and his son Arban for seven years in 2013, though both men went into hiding and have not served their sentences.

In 2016 a Kosovo court ordered a retrial of doctors and officials convicted of involvement in the case and that trial is still ongoing. They have all denied any wrongdoing.

Kosovo police said Dervishi had been recaptured last year and was among those now being retried. His son and another suspect in the case, Turkish doctor Yusuf Sonmez, are still at large.