Dick Marty: The purpose of the criminals to kill me was to put the blame on Hashim Thaci, because the Serbs did not believe that The Hague would take him

Dick Marty in a public release (archive) 

 Swiss Dick Marty (former state prosecutor of the canton of Ticino) accuses Albania just as much as he accuses Belgrade of the campaign: The approach of official Tirana could incite people against me.

Bern, April 28 - "The matter could have been resolved quickly" said Dick Marty making serious accusations against EDA and the Federal Prosecutor for slow steps in arresting those who were looking for Dick Marty's head, reports the Albanian Swiss newspaper Le Canton27.ch referring to local media.

Former State Councilor of Ticino and special investigator of the Council of Europe, Dick Marty, has made serious accusations against the foreign department of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs and the Office of the Attorney General regarding the threats against him, Swiss media in Albanian say.

Dick Marty (78), former State Councilor of Ticino and special investigator of the Council of Europe, said on "Daily Talk" on Radio SRF on Friday that it took him so long to get protection and that the authorities did not immediately pursue the criminals. "The matter could have been resolved quickly," said Marty, quoted by the Albanian Swiss newspaper Le Canton27.ch.

The aim of the criminals was to blame former Kosovo president Hashim Thaçi for his murder. Marty suspects that they were people with contacts in the Serbian secret services. Because Serbia was afraid that Thaçi could not stand before justice.

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If official Switzerland had immediately intervened with the Serbian government and told them that they knew the plans, the plan would have failed, Marty said. "But apparently they did not want to break diplomatic relations. I don't know why." But he knows that many people in official Switzerland at the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (EDA) and the Office of the Attorney General (BA) are not telling the truth.

BA: In contact with Serbian authorities

At the request of the Keystone-SDA news agency, BA wrote without addressing the accusation for a late reaction: "Swiss responsible authorities are in contact with Serbian authorities at various levels."

Exchanges and meetings were held between the Federal Criminal Police of Fedpol and Serbian police authorities, it was said on Friday. This measure is "part of the group of measures that have been drawn up," where the exchange between Fedpol and Serbian police authorities was done in close consultation with the Office of the Attorney General.

Swiss Dick Marty accuses Albania for the campaign. The approach of official Tirana could incite people against me.

However, the threat does not come only from the Serbian side, Marty emphasized to SRF. Albanian media, even politicians, have been spreading slander against him for years. And this is dangerous. Because this approach can incite uncontrollable people.

Marty expressed his disappointment that Swiss authorities did not tell him the truth: he was never very popular in official Bern, partly because he wrote a report on CIA prisons, which may have broken relations with the United States.

Confirm human rights violations

In a 2010 report addressed to the Council of Europe, Marty concluded that parts of the leadership of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) had committed war crimes during the Kosovo War of 1998-1999.

The Kosovo Specialist Court in The Hague later confirmed the relevant charges and Thaçi resigned as President in November 2020.

However, Marty was not given full protection until December 2020. At that time, the federal prosecutor said there should be a "serious threat situation" against Marty. Due to the "apparently transnational context", the issue also has a political component.