Turkish doctor Sonmez temporarily released pending trial

Sonmez was detained after Interpol issued a notice requesting his arrest on the basis of a warrant issued by the district court in Pristina that charges him with people smuggling and illegal immigration.

Ratel described Sonmez as a "key surgical participant" in operations at the clinic, known as Medicus. The judge has less than two weeks to decide if the case will move to a trial. Kosovo's justice authorities are monitored by an EU mission that also deals with serious crimes.

The doctor has previously been arrested in Turkey on suspicion of illegally procuring kidneys from destitute Turks and transplanting them to patients for large profits, according to Turkish media. Most organ recipients were from other countries.

In a Council of Europe report last month, the clinic Medicus was linked to a wider network of Albanian organised criminals with close links to senior officials in Kosovo's government, including the prime minister, Hashim Thaçi. Thaçi denied the claims and called for an independent investigation into them.

Minister Bogdanovic criticizes Turkish organ case decision

Minister for Kosovo Goran Bogdanovic says the Turskish decision to release Yusuf Sonmez was a bad message to all those who had committed crimes.

Bogdanovic told the decision undermines the EU Mission in Kosovo (EULEX) efforts to investigate the organ trafficking case related to a Pristina private clinic called Medicus.

"This decision is a bad message to all those who have committed crimes, saying that they can be abolished in a way, regardless of the fact that it allows EULEX prosecutors to go to Turkey and conduct an inquiry," Bogdanovic stated.

The Turkish authorities should not treat a serious case like that in such a way, he added.