Espionage row

A suspected agent of the Israeli secret service Mossad has been set free on bail in Cologne, allowing him to return to Israel. The agent known as Uri Brodsky was extradited from Poland after he had been arrested at Warsaw airport on August 4.

Brodsky is charged with illegally obtaining a German passport, which was later used in the killing of Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in Dubai on January 19.

Diplomatic row

Police in Dubai suspect Mossad to be behind the killing of al-Mabhouh, who was sedated and then suffocated in a hotel room in Dubai.

Of the 27 men and women reportedly involved in the killing, only Brodsky has been caught. The perpertrators used several fake passports, one of which was German.

The case sparked a diplomatic row between Israel, which has denied any Mossad involvement, and Germany, Britain, Australia, France and Poland.

Upon his arrest, Israel asked for Brodsky to be returned home, but Poland decided to hand him over to Germany, which had wanted the agent on charges of espionage.

But the Polish court ruled that Brodsky would only be extradited on charges of obtaining a passport under false pretenses. As a result, German prosecutors say, Germany cannot charge him with espionage. The Cologne prosecutor said on Friday that the current charges against Brodsky were not enough to detain him.

Author: Nicole Goebel (dpa/AFP/AP)
Editor: Ben Knight