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’No prison for Mossad hit squad helper’

07 August 2010 02:01 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. A suspected Mossad agent, wanted in Germany in connection with the murder of a Hamas leader in the United Arab Emirates, may only be fined after he is extradited by Poland, reports say, APA reports quoting presstv.ir website.

Israeli citizen Uri Brodsky is wanted in Germany for obtaining a fake passport for an Israeli agent suspected of involvement in the murder of Hamas leader Mahmud al-Mabhouh in the United Arab Emirates.

A court in Poland issued a ruling on Thursday, according to which Brodsky would be deported to Germany by mid-August only on charges of forgery, and not for espionage, in accordance with the international arrest warrant.

According to a report published on the website of Der Spiegel, which broke the story last month, Brodsky is thought to have worked in Germany under the name Alexander Werin. He is suspected to have assisted Mossad agents in obtaining foreign citizenship in many European states, including Switzerland, Austria, and the Baltic countries.

Brodsky is wanted by Germany for suspected links to the murder of Hamas leader Mahmud al-Mabhouh in Dubai and for allegedly having obtained a German passport under false pretences, an offence punishable under German law by up to three years in prison or a fine.

The Dubai police say the Mossad hit squad used 26 doctored foreign passports.

The incident caused outrage in the international community, and Israel had to face serious diplomatic fallout from Britain, Ireland, France, Australia, and Germany.

The Dubai police also identified 13 US-issued debit-card accounts used by the suspects into which money was deposited.

Brodsky was arrested on June 4 at Warsaw airport by Polish authorities acting on a European Union arrest warrant issued by Germany.

His case is likely to be handled in the western city of Cologne, where he allegedly illegally obtained the German passport.