As part of the ongoing investigations into the killing of Mahmoud Al Mabhouh, the Dubai Police has issued interpol warrants for 11 suspects carrying a variety of European passports. If the suspects are found in their homelands or anywhere else, the UAE authorities and Dubai Police will need full cooperation from the authorities in those countries so that the suspects can be returned to the UAE and the investigation taken to its conclusion.
The UAE may not have extradition treaties with some of the countries to which the suspects have fled, but there should be no doubt that cooperation with the different law enforcement agencies will happen. The UAE has been part of the international fight against crime for many years. It has been an integral part of the authorities' task to stop international crimes like money laundering, drugs smuggling, organised criminal gangs from various countries, and even anti-terror operations.
Crime is an international phenomenon and Dubai, and the UAE as a whole, is one of the world's major crossroads through which all sorts of people pass. The UAE has played a significant part in the international fight against organised crime, and has a good record of helping other nations to stop this scourge. So when it issues a warrant, this should be respected.
Al Mabhouh was a senior Hamas commander, so his killing has obvious political overtones. Nevertheless, Dubai Police are right to refuse to enter into that discussion, and to treat the killing as a crime that needs solving. It is not clear yet where the investigation might lead. The killers might have been politically motivated, or they could be professional killers. This has to be determined, the murder investigated and the killers brought to justice.
