Australia and the Dubai killing [ 680 ]

Australia summons Israeli envoy over Dubai killing

The three 'Australians' were among 15 new suspects released by Dubai BBC,01:16 GMT, Thursday, 25 February 2010 Australia has summoned the Israeli ambassador to explain the use of Australian passports by three suspects in the killing of a senior Palestinian. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said Canberra would "not be silent on the matter". Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, a senior member of the Palestinian militant group Hamas who helped supply arms to the Gaza Strip, was killed in Dubai in January. Police in Dubai earlier said they had identified 15 more suspects in the killing, taking the total to 26. They said the new suspects used British, French, Irish and - for the first time - Australian documents. Mr Rudd said Canberra would retaliate against any country found to be involved in forging its passports. He said that Australia would first try to establish the facts, but that this was not "a minor matter." Mr Mabhouh died in his hotel room in Dubai last month "It is not something you just push to one side. It is of the deepest concern," he added. The AFP news agency was reporting that Australia said the three passports appeared to have been "duplicated or altered". On Tuesday, Israeli opposition leader Tzipi Livni applauded the killing, which Dubai believes was organised by Israel's intelligence service, Mossad. Israel has been widely blamed for the murder, but has refused to confirm or deny any involvement. One of the founders of Hamas's military wing, the Izz al-Din Qassam Brigades, Mr Mabhouh was found dead in a hotel room in the Gulf emirate on 20 January. A post-mortem examination report said he had been electrocuted and then suffocated. Travel chart Earlier this month Dubai authorities released the names and passport photographs of 11 "agents with European passports" - six from the UK, three Irish, one French and one German. TRAVEL MOVEMENTS OF SUSPECTS Police chart showing 26 suspects' routes into and out of Dubai in 2010 (500kb) Most computers will open PDF documents automatically, but you might need to download Adobe Acrobat Reader. Download the reader here Pictures of all 26 suspects All four countries have since said the documents were fraudulent. On Wednesday, the police released a new list of suspects who allegedly offered "logistical support" in the months before the January killing. The police also produced a chart tracing the travel routes of both the new and old suspects before and after Mr Mabhouh's death. "The suspects gathered in Dubai and dispersed to various locations before pairing up again in different teams and heading off to other destinations," they said. The police said two of the Australian passport holders had allegedly travelled by boat to Iran during a reconnaissance mission last August. Investigators have also discovered that 14 of the suspects had used credit cards issued by MetaBank - a small bank based in the US state of Iowa - to book hotel rooms and pay for air travel. A MetaBank spokeswoman told the Associated Press news agency that the bank was trying to confirm the reports. New list The six newly identified suspects who used UK passports were listed as Daniel Marc Schnur, Gabriella Barney, Roy Allan Cannon, Stephen Keith Drake, Mark Sklur and Philip Carr. Six of the new suspects used British passports Those on Irish passports were Ivy Brinton, Anna Shuana Clasby and Chester Halvey; on French passports David Bernard LaPierre, Melenie Heard and Eric Rassineux; and on Australian passports Bruce Joshua Daniel, Nicole Sandra Mccabe and Adam Korman, according to the statement. British officials said they were trying to contact the people whose names and passport details had been used. "We can confirm that six more UK passports have been identified," the Foreign Office in London said. "We will seek to make contact with these individuals and offer consular assistance as we have the previous individuals." "The foreign secretary and others have made clear we expect full Israeli co-operation," it added. The Dubai police statement said the investigation was ongoing and that they were "not ruling out the possibility" of more suspects.