Alleged Mossad agent Uri Brodsky, accused of being part of the Dubai assassination ring, is fighting a Polish order to extradite him to Germany for trial. Brodsky’s lawyer argued that Polish law prevents extradition in cases of politically motivated offenses. The trial date for the appeal is August 5.
Germany wants to charge Brodsky for allegedly obtaining a German passport under false pretenses. He is not accused of spying.
Brodsky was arrested in June at the Warsaw airport, and a Polish court earlier this month authorized his extradition, although without implying he is guilty. It explained that the German warrant was legal and that Brodsky was correctly identified as the suspect in question.
Poland has denied Israeli requests to allow Brodsky to return home. Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that despite close ties with Israel and the painful history of the Holocaust, it could not legally deny Germany’s demand.
The ring that carried out the January assassination of Hamas co-founder Mahmoud al-Mabhouh is suspected of having cloned or illegally forged 26 passports from Europe and Australia. Dubai police have accused the Mossad spy agency of Israel of being behind the elimination of Mabhouh, who was suspected of having been in Dubai to carry out a weapons smuggling deal.
One of Brodsky's lawyers, Krzysztof Stepinski, told the Associated Press, "I believe we will win. I strongly believe that he will be sent back to Israel.”
It is not known if Brodsky is his real name. His passport was issued in the name of “Michael Bodenheimer,” a descendant of a German Jew who lives in Israel.