JERUSALEM (JTA) — An alleged Israeli Mossad agent held in Poland has appealed his extradition to Germany.
Uri Brodsky, who is suspected of involvement in the assassination of a Hamas leader in Dubai in January, is fighting the extradition by claiming that Polish law does not allow such an action when the alleged offense is politically motivated, according to the AFP French news agency.
His extradition was approved July 7 by a Warsaw court. The appeal will be heard Aug. 5.
Israel has called on Poland to allow Brodsky to return to Israel.
Brodsky, who was arrested at the Warsaw Airport in early June, is suspected of having helped another Mossad agent, reportedly named Michael Bodenheimer, to illegally obtain a German passport as part of the plot to kill senior Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in a Dubai hotel room. According to the German federal prosecutor’s office, Bodenheimer received German citizenship based on fabricated evidence that his parents had fled Nazi Germany.
Mabhouh co-founded the military wing of the Islamist Hamas movement and allegedly was in Dubai to conclude a weapons deal when he was killed. Dubai police investigations reportedly pointed to the involvement of 33 people in the plot. They were placed on Interpol’s most wanted list, and Germany particularly sought Brodsky, according to reports.
The team allegedly used fake passports from England, Ireland, France, Australia and Germany. All five countries demanded explanations from Israeli diplomats in the case; the use of fake passports and stolen identities appeared to be of primary concern.
Israel reportedly has not responded to the requests for explanations, and it has neither confirmed nor denied its involvement in the assassination of Mabhouh.
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