The spokesman confirmed that Polish authorities had detained a man using the name Uri Brodsky who is the subject of a European arrest warrant issued by Germany. The man is suspected of fraudulently obtaining a German passport believed to have been used by a member of the hit squad that Dubai says assassinated Hamas commander Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in a hotel room in January.Dubai has accused Israel of being behind the killing and provided the names of more than two dozen alleged members of a team it says tracked and killed the Palestinian, using fraudulent British, Irish, French, German and Australian passports. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied any role in the assassination, prompting international indignation.
“The man sought by Germany was detained a week ago. He will be held for up to 40 days and during this time the court will have to rule whether to extradite him,” said Wojciech Malek, a spokesman for the Warsaw district court.
A spokesman in the Polish foreign ministry said there had been no formal request from Israel that the man be allowed to return home.
A spokesman for the German Justice Ministry declined to comment on the case, but said EU rules mandated that extraditions take place within 40 days of an arrest. Mabhouh, born in the Gaza Strip, had lived in Syria since 1989 and Israeli and Palestinian sources have said he played a key role in smuggling Iranian-funded arms to Gaza.
