A POLISH court has ordered the extradition to Germany of a suspected Mossad agent with links to the January killing of a Hamas leader in Dubai.
Acting on a German international arrest warrant, Polish officials arrested Israeli Uri Brodsky on June 4th on charges of obtaining a passport by fraudulent means. German prosecutors say the man was not involved directly in the Dubai incident, but allege he helped obtain a German passport issued last year in Cologne and used later in the incident.
“The court has decided to hand over Uri Brodsky to German authorities for judicial procedures there,” said Judge Tomasz Talkiewicz, after the case was heard on Tuesday and yesterday in a closed Warsaw district court.
Mr Brodsky was in the courtroom for proceedings but hid his face from cameras with the hood of a dark blue rain jacket. While being escorted from the court by Polish anti-terrorism police, he covered his face with his hands.
In its verdict the court ruled that Mr Brodsky should only face charges in Germany for offences also punishable under Polish law.
“The court did not decide whether Brodsky committed the crime for which he is under investigation, merely checked whether the extradition request satisfied formal requirements and whether the suspect has been correctly identified.”
Last month’s arrest started a diplomatic tug-of-war between two of Poland’s closest allies: Germany’s federal prosecutor insisted the man be turned over for questioning while the Israeli embassy lobbied the Polish authorities to repatriate the man, one of 26 suspects connected to the incident.
The Dubai hotel killing of Mahmud al-Mabhuh, a founder of the military wing of Hamas, caused international outcry after the assassins, widely suspected of being Mossad agents, used forged passports from Britain, France, Ireland, Australia and Germany.
According to German media reports, the application for the passport was made in line with a post-war German agreement to offer citizenship to Jews who fled the country because of Nazi persecution. An applicant calling himself Michael Bodenheimer presented documents in Cologne purporting to show residence in Germany and a wedding certificate from parents he claimed fled the Nazis.
It was later established that the identity had been stolen: Michael Bodenheimer lives in Israel and told local media he had not applied for a German passport.
Israeli cabinet ministers asked Poland to repatriate the man and allow the Israeli authorities deal with Germany’s request. Mr Brodsky has three days to appeal.