British man named as suspect in Mahmoud al-Mabhouh killing says ordeal has left him
Rory McCarthy and Sam Jones
Images released by the authorities in Dubai showing seven of the 11 suspects wanted in connection with the killing of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh. Photograph: AP
Three British men who today found themselves named as some of the assassins suspected of killing Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in Dubai last month expressed shock yesterday, with one saying that the ordeal had left him "angry, upset and scared".
Melvyn Mildiner, who lives with his family near Jerusalem, said he had gone to bed with pneumonia and awoke this morning to find he had been branded a killer by the Dubai police and the press.
"I have no idea how to clear my name," the technical writer told reporters. "Interpol has a warrant out for my arrest. I went to bed with pneumonia and woke up a murderer.
"I am obviously angry, upset and scared, any number of things. And I'm looking into what I can do to try to sort things out and clear my name. I don't know how this happened or who chose my name or why, but hopefully we'll find out soon." Mildiner, who lives with his wife, Sorcha, in Beit Shemesh, said he still had his UK passport with him, had never been to Dubai and bore no resemblance to the man of his name shown in photographs by Dubai police.
The 31-year-old was among six Britons named by Dubai police as members of the hit squad believed to be responsible for the killing of the Hamas militant.
The others are: Michael Barney, James Clarke, Jonathan Graham, Paul Keeley, and Stephen Hodes. Tonight Israel's Channel 2 reported that two other men besides Mildiner – Paul Keeley and Stephen Hodes – were British-born Israelis. The Foreign Office said it had no information on whether any of the named men had dual UK-Israeli citizenship. Today Hodes's wife Gabriella said that her husband, a 37-year-old physical therapist who moved to Israeli in 2000, learned of his "association" with the assassins by surfing an Israeli news website, Ynet. "He was sitting by the computer and suddenly realised it's his name," she told the site.
"At first he laughed and said that someone is dressing up like him for [the festival of] Purim but he later realized it was serious when he began receiving emails from friends. By then he wanted to talk to a lawyer. In time he realised that it was also his birth date. His parents are concerned, the family in England is concerned ‑ but no one from the authorities contacted us."
Paul Keeley, 43, from Kibbutz Nahsholim, told Israeli media: "I'm waiting for someone to talk to me. I'm afraid, it's scary when someone steals your identity, especially for these sorts of purposes. I haven't left the country since last year when I spent a few days in Turkey. I want answers. My wife is worried, the family is worried and I want to protect the family."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/feb/16/dubai-murder-hamas-anger-accused/print
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