Hamas militants stand in front of a picture of senior Hamas military commander Mahmoud al-Mabhouh at rally against his assassination in northern Gaza on February 17, 2010. Mabhuh, a senior commander in the armed wing of the Islamist group, was assassinated last month in Dubai by a professional hit squad of at least 11 people carrying forged European passports, according to Dubai police. Hamas has blamed Israel for the assassination. UPI/Ismael Mohamad. |
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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, Oct. 11 (UPI) -- A non-European country asked authorities to withhold details regarding the arrest of a suspect in the January slaying of a Hamas leader, a Dubai official said.
Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, a Palestinian national who founded the militant wing of Hamas, was discovered dead in a Dubai hotel in January. Dubai police said 12 British, six Irish, four French, three Australian and one German passports were connected to suspects in the Mabhouh assassination.
Lt. Gen. Dahi Khalfan Tamim, the police chief in Dubai, told the Emirati newspaper The National that a suspect who played a "key role" in the assassination was arrested but details were withheld at the request of a foreign government.
"The suspect who was arrested played a key role in the killing but we were informed by the ambassador during a meeting that they did not wish to release the information," he said.
He added that it he was frustrated by the lack of transparency in the case.
"I do not have an explanation for why they do not want to make it public but there is a need for more transparency in this case," he said. "Why is it that every time an Israeli is involved in a crime, everyone goes mute?"
Berlin officials tied the Israeli spy agency Mossad to a German passport linked by Interpol to the Dubai assassination.
More than 30 people are wanted by Interpol in connection to the Mabhouh assassination.
