- OTTAWA -- Federal officials
are investigating whether a suspected Israeli spy is travelling in Asia
on a stolen Canadian passport.
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- Foreign Affairs spokesman Reynald Doiron said agencies
are checking allegations that Zev William Barkan - embroiled in a New Zealand
espionage caper - is using a Canadian passport issued under the name Kevin
William Hunter.
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- Diplomatic inquiries, intelligence liaison and police
investigation might soon provide answers, Mr. Dorion said Tuesday. "All
of that being put together, we should have a clearer picture."
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- It is the latest twist in a spy scandal that has rocked
New Zealand.
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- The 37-year-old Mr. Barkan, a suspected member of the
Israeli Mossad, is wanted by police for allegedly trying to help illegally
obtain a New Zealand passport.
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- Two Israelis, Uriel Kelman, 30, and Eli Cara, 50, each
received six-month prison sentences earlier this month for their part in
the scheme. Both are appealing their convictions.
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- As part of the plot, Mr. Barkan allegedly assumed the
identity of a wheelchair-bound man with cerebral palsy in an effort to
secure the passport.
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- New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark has said there
was "no doubt whatsoever" in her mind Mr. Kelman and Mr. Cara
were Israeli agents. The men have denied the charge.
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- Ms. Clark demanded an apology from Israel for the affair,
which has seriously strained relations between the countries.
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- Mr. Barkan is believed to have fled New Zealand after
Mr. Kelman and Mr. Cara were arrested. The involvement of a fourth man,
who has not been formally identified, is also suspected.
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- Canadian officials are looking into a report Mr. Barkan
was recently seen in Pyongyang, North Korea, where he had flown from Beijing
using Mr. Hunter's passport, said to have been reported stolen in the southern
Chinese city of Guangzhou in mid-April.
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- "That part of the story's being checked," said
Mr. Dorion.
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- Canada is taking the allegation seriously given that
two Mossad hitmen were caught seven years ago in Jordan with phony Canadian
passports following a bungled attempt to kill a Hamas leader.
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- Canada subsequently sought and received assurances from
Israel that its passport would not be abused.
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- Media reports describe Mr. Barkan as a friendly and talkative
Caucasian man with thick black hair and an American accent. He allegedly
once served as a diplomat at two Israeli embassies in Europe.
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- Reports say that while in New Zealand, Mr. Barkan went
by the name Jay and claimed to be taking a sailing course. He told people
he was from Washington, where he ran a window and door company.
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