Spy scandal puts Poland under pressure
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Poland may find itself fielding multiple extradition requests for the suspected Mossad spy it arrested earlier this month. The man at the centre of the brewing legal wrangle is believed to be connected to the assassination of a top Hamas operative in a Dubai hotel this January.
Polish authorities have refused to name the suspected Israeli agent they detained at Warsaw airport on 4 June as he tried to enter the country on a German passport. But German media reports have named him as Uri Brodsky and claim he is wanted in connection with the killing of Hamas's Mahmoud al-Mabhouh earlier this year.
Al-Mabhoub's killing caused a diplomatic scandal after it was revealed that the team of assassins - widely believed to be from the Israeli spy agency Mossad - used forrged passports from Britain, France, Germany, Ireland and Australia.
Germany has applied for the Israeli citizen’s extradition over the alleged use of a fake German passport in the incident and Dubai police chief Dahi Khalfan Tamim has announced that the oil-rich state may also try to extradite Brodsky.
Meanwhile, Israel - which strongly denies that any Mossad agent or Israeli citizen was involved in Al-Mabhoub's assassination - is putting pressure on the Polish government to return the man to his homeland.
This puts Warsaw in a difficult position as it is one of Israel’s closest allies in Europe, but it is also tied to extradition agreements with Germany and EU international law.
Poland’s Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski refused to comment on the arrest. “The Justice Ministry would be a more appropriate contact as the case is not a diplomatic incident and does not impinge on Polish-Israeli relations,” he said.
