Brodsky in Israel under cloak of secrecy

The suspected Israeli spy released by Germany on bail in a case linked to the killing last January of a Hamas leader in Dubai is reported to be back in Israel.

TEL AVIV // The suspected Israeli spy released last week by Germany on bail in a case linked to the killing last January of a Hamas leader in Dubai is back in Israel, but no futher details have been released about his whereabouts, according to Israeli reports.

The suspect, known as Uri Brodsky, arrived at Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv after he was freed by German authorities on Friday, pending a decision on whether he was involved in the falsification of a passport that was tied to the assassination of Mahmoud al Mabhouh in Dubai, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported yesterday without citing its sources. Few details have been published about Mr Brodsky in Israel, where the issue appears to be under heavy official censorship, typical of issues Israel views as part of its national security.

Nevertheless, the case has helped to raise suspicions of Israel's alleged forgery of European passports believed to have been used by members of the hit squad that killed al Mabhouh, one of the founders of the military wing of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas. The Dubai police have said that the assassination involved about 25 alleged members from the Israeli spy agency Mossad, with most of them carrying doctored passports, including from Britain, France, Ireland and Australia. Israel has denied any involvement of the Mossad in the assassination of al Mabhouh.

Still, the episode has sparked diplomatic tensions between Israel and some key allies such as Germany and Britain, the latter of which expelled an Israeli diplomat over the matter in March. In May, Australia expelled an unnamed official from the Israeli embassy. Mr Brodsky was arrested in early June at the Warsaw airport on a European arrest warrant that was issued by Germany. Germany had initially accused him of espionage and of helping forge a German passport that is believed to have been used by one of the members of the assassination team that killed the Hamas leader in his Dubai hotel room.

The German passport in question had been issued in the western city of Cologne in 2009, with Mr Brodsky's alleged help, to a man named Michael Bodenheimer, who is believed to have been part of the hit squad. Despite Germany's initial accusations, a court in Poland ruled on July 7 that Mr Brodsky could be extradited to Germany only on the basis of the passport forgery charge and not because of espionage activity.

Israel had objected to the extradition, calling on Poland to send him straight home rather than hand him over to Germany. While Poland stuck to its court ruling, its prime minister, Donald Tusk, had dubbed the issue "delicate" in light of the history between his country, Israel and Germany, since half of the six million Jews killed by the Nazis during the Holocaust were from Poland. Germany's release of Mr Brodsky on Friday had prompted worry from the UAE, where the Hamas leader's killing took place.

Abdurahim al Awadhi, assistant for legal affairs to the Foreign Minister, had "expressed concern" about Mr Brodsky being granted freedom to return to Israel and said that the UAE is seeking "assurances that Brodsky is in no way connected with the murder of Mahmoud al Mabhouh", the state news agency WAM said on Saturday. The Foreign Ministry added: "As this may relate to a serious crime committed in Dubai, the UAE expects full and close cooperation from the German authorities and will continue to pursue the matter through diplomatic channels."

Some legal experts have said that Mr Brodsky is unlikely to return to Germany, because the German prosecution last week cautioned that he could face spying charges if he leaves the country and later returns, or if he is arrested in a third country that agrees to extradite him to Germany on those charges. According to Rainer Wolf, a spokesman for the prosecution, Mr Brodsky could be tried in absentia and the most likely penalty option for the forgery of a passport is a fine, although the Israeli suspect could by law also face a short prison sentence.

Mr Wolf also said that both the German prosecutors and the court had agreed on Mr Brodsky's release, but he declined to disclose the amount of bail paid. Israel is believed to have had an interest in assassinating al Mabhouh because of what Israeli and Palestinian security sources have claimed was the role the Gaza-born Hamas leader had played in smuggling Iranian-funded arms to militants in Gaza, which Hamas rules.